


Blacker Than Void Essence

by anna_maria_yea



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Depression, Drinking, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Loneliness, Loss of Virginity, Marijuana, Mental Health Issues, Minor Suicidal Thoughts, Slow Burn, Smut, Some angst, Young Adults, very slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 17:52:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 96,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15587427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anna_maria_yea/pseuds/anna_maria_yea
Summary: Andie decides to move to Stardew Valley to find happiness in her life by becoming closer to nature. Instead she falls in love with a geeky, emo boy who dreams of moving to the city she just left. She never wants to go back, but she wants him to be happy.(Some TWs for suicidal thoughts/ideation/mentions, and marijuana/alcohol)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is quite short, but I'll make up for it by having the next one posted very soon!
> 
> This is the first fanfic I've written in years, but I'm having a lot of fun with this one and am about 25 chapters in, so no lack of material coming your way!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and/or stopping by!

As I finished my set, some light applause rang throughout the nearly empty club. It wasn't much, but it was appreciated. I stepped off the stage and made my way through a smoke-filled crowd, who were mostly focused on the others at their own tables and ignored me, to approach the bar for a drink.

"The usual, please," I asked. The bartender nodded and made me a rum and coke, as I often had one before and after my gigs. I removed a small letter from my bag. I had been reading and rereading it all day, starting at work earlier, in the Joja office, to now at my singing gig. The letter faced me with an important decision to make, a decision which would change the course of my future. No more office, no more gigs in tiny lounges.

It turned out my grandfather decided to leave me his farm property outside the city, in Stardew Valley. After years of curiosity about the letter and why my grandfather left it to me, I finally found out why: he saw something in me, that I was like him. He thought that one day, life in the city may start to treat me badly and that life on a farm might help me find a purpose again. I wasn't sure though.

Why me? I wasn't exactly a country girl. I had no idea how to keep a farm. Hell, I've had cactuses die under my care. How am I supposed to make a living on a growing plants?

I took a sip of my rum and coke. Maybe I should read through the letter once more. I thought of my grandfather for a moment. I had only met him a handful of times when my parents wanted to get away for the summer. We would cross the suburbs and the city and head for the countryside, Stardew Valley, in a small town adorably named Pelican Town. Grandpa would be waiting for us on his porch, fresh fruits from the farm already picked and cleaned for our lunch sitting in a bowl, waiting for us. Then he would let us help him pick blueberries, peppers and tomatoes. As a kid, it was fun.

But farming for work would not be the same, and I had to figure out if it was something I could manage. It would be different, that's for certain; much more physical than I was used to. I had become very comfortable with work that mostly involved sitting - working at Joja, studying at college, writing and singing. It was possible, though. It would just be a change, that's all.

With that, I turned back to my grandfather's letter:

 

_ Dear Andie, _

_ If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. _

_ The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. _

_ I've enclosed the deed to that place... my pride and joy: Nightshade Farm. It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It's the perfect place to start your new life. _

_ This was my most precious gift of all, and now it's yours. I know you'll honour the family name, my girl. Good luck. _

_ Love, Grandpa. _

_ P.S. If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya? _

 

It was true, I did feel like I'd lost myself in the bustle of work life. I sat at a desk all day, crunched numbers like a computer, and input them into a system. Singing was the only thing making me feel accomplished anymore. Why have I put up with wasting so much of my day feeling so unhappy? Why did I let this go on so long? I couldn't do this anymore. I needed to find myself again. It wouldn't be easy, I knew that much, but it was what needed to be done.

That night, when I got home to my tiny apartment, I lit a joint. It was only an occasional habit, but I felt this was the time. My nerves calmed just enough to allow me to bypass my anxiety and pick up the phone.

"Hello? Is this Joja Employment?"

"Yes, you've reached the right department."

"Good, I'd like to terminate my employment, effective immediately." I gave her my name and ID number.

"Oh, well, usually we ask for a two week notice."

"Two week notice? Sorry, I'm leaving tomorrow, I have no choice."

"You're kinda leaving us in a bad place, who's gonna take your position?"

"Well, you're gonna have to figure that out yourselves."

And with that, I hung up. I’m done with feeling lonely while being surrounded by people. I’m done with doing work that was meaningless and unfulfilling. I’m ready for a new life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more set up in this chapter. Longer chapters will be coming soon!

The next day, I awoke early to pack up my clothes before I could catch the bus out of town. I put on a pair of black jeans, and one of my favourite black t-shirts which had an alien head on the front. I had left a message on the landlord's answering machine, explaining that I left my rent and keys in an envelope in his mailbox the night before. That took care of just about everything. The only thing left was to tell my family. Once I stepped out onto the street in front of the building, a single suitcase and a guitar in hand, I took out my phone and dialed my parents' home.

"Hey honey!" My mother answered. "Aren't you supposed to be at work by now?"

"Hey mom, so, remember that letter grandpa left me a couple years ago, before he passed away?" I asked, as I paced around my bags.

"Y-yes?" she asked confused.

"He left me the deed to the farm." I could hear her choke on a sip of, probably, tea if I had to guess.

"He left you Nightshade Farm?"

"Yeah."

"Oh wow. What are you gonna do with it? Sell it?"

"No, mom. I...I'm gonna move there," I revealed, holding my breath.

"You're moving to Pelican Town?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"So, you quit your job at Joja?"

"Yep. I quit last night, I gave my last rent payment today. I'm gonna find something else to do. Something that will make me happy."

"Oh, honey, I didn't know you weren't happy. I hope you know what you're doing. Should we send some money?"

"No, mom, it's fine. I still have my savings until I figure something out."

"Okay. I guess I can't talk you out of it," she said, sounding worried on the other end. I shuffled around, shifting my weight from one leg to the other. The guilt began to settle within me. You can't just let an Italian mom worry like that. I fully expected to receive meals in the mail, or at the very least frequent letters.

"I love you, mom. Tell dad I love him too. Come visit me sometime. Maybe in the Winter, when there's nothing to farm, I could come home to visit."

"That'd be nice," she said, her voice wavering a bit. "I love you, honey."

"I won't be too much farther away, mom. I'll call, and send letters all the time. I promise."

"I know you will."

"I need to go catch the bus, mom. I'll text you when I get there to let you know I'm safe."

"Okay. Go catch your bus, sweetie. Good luck in the valley. Say hi to Caroline for me. I haven’t seen her in years. Not since we last paid grandpa a visit."

"Thanks, mom! I will. Love you! Goodbye," I said, feeling a pang of sadness in my chest. I would have to remember the name Caroline; it was the least I could do for mom.

"Bye, honey."

With that, I hung up and shoved my phone into my pocket. I tossed my guitar case over my shoulder, pulled up the handle of my suitcase and headed off towards the closest bus stop, which would take me to the station.

Once I got to the station, I found the bus listed online and helped an older woman, maybe in her forties or fifties, with blonde '80s-styled, permed hair, with getting my bags into the hold under the bus.

"Hey kid, what's bringing you to Stardew Valley?" she asked in a husky voice.

"I'm actually moving to Pelican Town," I explained as she closed the hold and we stepped up the steps onto the bus.

"No way, that's where I'm from! I live there with my girl, Penny. Name's Pam."

"Nice to meet you, Pam. I'm Andie," I said, taking a seat directly beside and slightly behind the driver's seat.

"Nice to meet you, Andie. Where ya gonna be livin'?"

"My grandfather had a farm out there. Nightshade Farm. Are you familiar?"

"You're related to Giovanni? No kidding! He was Mayor Lewis's best friend. I was so sorry to hear of his passing."

"Thank you, Pam. Yeah, that place was his pride and joy. I hope I can make it great, just like he did."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, kid! That place just needs some TLC and it'll be great. You got a good piece of land there."

"Glad to hear it," I replied with a chuckle. It went quiet for a moment after that as the bus started up and Pam drove them out of the station. Before long we were out of the city and the sights of farms, forests and mountains greeted us. The bus was mostly pretty empty, so it seemed like it would be a quiet ride.

"It's gonna be a bit of a ride, kid. You got something to keep ya busy? I don't mind talking if you got nothing else to do, though."

"I think I'll just listen to some music for a while. I’ll let you focus on the road," I suggested with a laugh. She returned it with a hearty chuckle.

"Sure thing. I'll let you know when we're close."

"Thanks, Pam."

With that, I stuck some earbuds in and kicked my feet up onto the railing by the stairs onto the bus. I put on some punk rock music. My favourite genres were in the realm of garage rock and punk rock, but mostly I sang more pop songs when I did gigs. I was a better singer than musician, so it was easier for me to play simple pop accompaniments on the guitar instead of joining a band. Not many bands were looking for singers in Zuzu City anyway, it seemed. It was easier for me to play solo because of this.

I enjoyed the music as I watched the landscape shift between rocky mountains, green fields and forests, only stopping a few times to let some of the others off the mostly empty bus. Something in my chest began to loosen - something I didn't even know was tight. A sense of calm familiarity began to take over me. I had a flashback to the feeling of excitement, of being a child and knowing I wouldn't have to think about schoolwork for a few weeks. Only now, I wouldn't have to think of my old life. I wouldn't have to think of it ever again, if I wanted.

I also took a moment to think of my grandfather's last words to me as the music continued to play. I could still remember his words and his voice, slightly gruff but very kind and sweet sounding. I had never seen anyone on their deathbed before, and I imagined it was always a different experience, but my grandfather seemed entirely calm as he addressed the every member of the family before finally landing on me:

 

_ …and for my very special granddaughter: _

_ I want you to have this sealed envelope. No, no, don't open it yet… have patience. Now, listen close… There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of modern life and your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my dear, you'll be ready for this gift. Now, let grandpa rest. _

 

After perhaps another forty minutes of driving, Pam piped up. We were farther away from the city than I thought.

"Hey kid, ya listenin'? We're almost there."

I pulled my earbuds off and hung the cord over my neck. We soon entered a clearing with a path leading to a split in the road. The bus stopped in front of said path.

"Don't worry about your bags, I'll get them to your place. The purple suitcase and the guitar, right?"

"Those are the ones."

"Alrighty. Let's get you settled in!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to get the set up chapters out of the way so that soon I can start uploading the meatier stuff :D

I stepped off the bus into the bright, sunny clearing. The sky was blue with perfectly fluffy clouds in the air, looking like floating pieces of popcorn. The air smelled fresh and clean, like Spring air should. Some of the nearby bushes had red berries hanging off of them and some dandelions and daffodils were spread around the clearing. Everything was alive here. I couldn't fully explain it, but I felt instantly different - lighter and cheerier, like the breezes passing through the oak trees.

As Pam started dealing with my bags, I noticed a woman standing there who was paying attention to me. She had red hair pulled into a ponytail and a yellow work jacket which looked like it had sawdust stuck in the threads.

"Hello," I said to her with a hint of uncertainty in my voice.

"Hello! I'm Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home. He's there right now, tidying things up for your arrival. The farm's right over here, if you'll follow me."

"Oh, that'd be great. Thank you."

She walked me down the path and to the right. As the path ended, it opened up to a huge fenced off sector of land. It was hard to make out exactly how large it was due to numerous trees, weeds, and stones that had made themselves home on the abandoned property. The main sight, however, was a small house with a little mailbox beside it and a wooden crate off to the side.

"Well, this is Nightshade Farm!"

I looked around the property in awe. I think Robin noticed me jump a bit as I took in the amount of debris that was littered around the land.

"What's the matter?" she asked with a laugh. "Sure, it's a bit overgrown, but there's some good soil underneath that mess!"

Pam had hinted at it needing some TLC, but I had vastly underestimated how much could grow on a land. It had only been left alone for a few years, since grandpa’s back had gone out and he had to come home to stay with us.

"Oh, wow."

"Ah, with a little dedication you'll have it cleaned up in no time." She lead me over to the house to inspect it.

"I hope you're right," I said, with an uneasy laugh.

"Sure! Your grandfather was able to take care of it in his old age after all.  Anyways, here we are. Your new home."

The house looked a little weatherbeaten, but it was a house. I could deal with that. Suddenly, an older man wearing a brown newsboy cap and suspenders appeared in the doorway of the place.

"Ah, the new farmer!"

"Yes, I'm Andie. Mayor Lewis, I presume?" I asked politely.

"Indeed! Welcome to Pelican Town! You know, everyone's been asking about you."

"Really?"

"Of course! It's not every day that someone new moves in. It's quite a big deal!"

"Oh wow," I said quietly. I realized a wave of shyness had come over me. This unfamiliar situation was taking its toll on my introverted self. I hadn't had to deal with meeting so many new people in one day. In the city, most people just ignored you.

Mayor Lewis smiled and joined them, taking in the house and the farmland.

"So, you're moving into your grandfather's old cottage. It's a good house... very rustic."

"Yes, I see," I giggled nervously, examining the old wood holding the place together.

"Rustic?" Robin giggled. "That's one way to put it. 'Crusty' might be a little more apt, though."

"Rude!" Mayor Lewis interrupted her. Honestly, I didn't mind. It was a little crusty, but I could make do. I could feel my face cringing a bit. These people were being so nice to me. Even the insult sounded so playful, they didn't even hurt. The mayor looked a little annoyed, however. "Don't listen to her, Andie. She's just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you buy one of her house upgrades."

Robin held a hand towards her chest as though pretending to be offended.

"Respect the hustle," I tried to joke, but it sounded somewhat weak. I felt so confident this morning, but now that this was all actually happening, I wasn't sure how to feel.

"Anyway... You must be tired from the long journey. You should get some rest. Tomorrow you ought to explore the town a bit and introduce yourself. The townspeople would appreciate that."

"Okay," I said with a deep exhale. "I think I'll do that."

"Fantastic! Well, I think that's everythi-Oh! I almost forgot. If you have anything to sell, just place it in this box here. I'll come by during the night to collect it. Well, good luck!"

With that Mayor Lewis left the property via the same path we had arrived. I turned to Robin.

"I should leave too," she said, checking her phone for the time. "My son's gonna be waking up soon, maybe I'll make him some lunch. You should come by some time, Andie! I'll introduce you to my family! Good luck, see ya!"

"See ya, Robin!" I said, waving at her as she also vanished down the path on the way to town.

With that, all was quiet except for the sound of leaves rustling as gentle breezes passed through them, some birds or insects singing, and perhaps some faint voices coming from the town. I entered the house carefully, gently turning the door as though it may fall apart at any moment. The cabin was small, but it was all I would need for now. It didn't even have a kitchen - just a bed, a TV set, a fireplace, and a dining table. There was a pile of tools sitting off beside the door in a wooden chest. I would figure those out tomorrow. For now, I decided to unpack my stuff and just watch some television for today. I also found that Mayor Lewis had left some parsnip seeds on my table as a housewarming gift. I took a notebook out and wrote down what I wanted to accomplish within the next few days to a week:

-Remove enough debris to begin planting

-Plant parsnips and choose another crop to plant

-Meet the town

That seemed like enough to manage for now. I laid down in the bed while watching some food show on the TV called The Queen of Sauce. I got so relaxed that I ended up falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it! There's still a lot more to come!

The next day, I woke up early to explore the farm land and get to work cleaning it up. I noticed there was a broken down greenhouse on one end, next to a shrine for my grandfather. I wondered who put it there, but I shoved the thought away as I decided I needed to get to work. I’d ask around about the shrine later.

I had never chopped down a tree before but I needed a few moved out of the way so that I could plant these parsnips. I stood off to one side and chopped into one of these trees at an angle so that it would fall away from me. Waving the axe took a lot of energy out of me, and after bringing down a couple pine trees, I was about ready to pass out on the dirt then and there. I had a quick snack of a granola bar and went back to it, tilling the land in preparation for planting.

Grandpa's old tools were a little rusty, but they got the job done. Soon enough, the parsnips were planted. My back was already sore and my skin felt hot from the pounding rays of the sun, but as I checked the time I realized it was only 12 o' clock.

I should meet some of the town, I supposed. I headed back inside to drop off my tools and clean some dirt off my clothes. I took a look in the mirror. The last colour I had dyed my hair before leaving was periwinkle, much to the chagrin of my boss at Joja. It was probably my favourite colour yet. It had been in for a while, however, and my roots could do with a bleach; the dark brown was starting to grow out a bit too much for my liking. I had a small ring in my septum, very simple in order to only hint at an edgy, alternative nature. Another thing my boss didn’t like, a couple tattoos adorned my arms and legs. Sparse and few, but still not considered office-friendly.

I cleaned up my hair a bit, and straightened my overalls before heading off down the path to town.

I stopped in the clearing to pick some of the seasonal flowers, even finding a leek hiding in the grass, and continued into town with the flowers poking out the top of my backpack. I didn't have a lot of space in my little bag, but maybe I'd be able to buy a bigger one eventually. As I followed the path down the opposite direction of my farm, I arrived in a small plaza. The town was quite small, but quaint. Unlike my farm, the town was mostly pretty tidy and obviously had people to care for it. I passed by a clinic and headed for the shop first, since I wanted to check out what seeds were in season anyways.

The shop was called Pierre's and it was filled with farming and cooking supplies, everything I needed and would need. I couldn't afford much fertilizer, so I focused on getting a few of every seed instead. Pierre seemed nice and he invited his family to meet me soon after.

"Hey, Abigail, honey! Come meet the new farmer!" he called through a doorway which apparently lead to their house. After not hearing anyone return his call, he told me to head on into the kitchen.

I felt awkward about it, but maybe this was normal in smaller towns? I headed into his house, passing through a large recreation room before finding the kitchen on the other end. Here, his wife and daughter were working on a lunch. His wife, who had green hair and a kind face, immediately held a hand out for me.

"I'm Caroline. Nice to meet you, farmer..." she trailed off, awaiting my name. Her name rang a bell in my head. This was who my mom wanted me to say hello to.

"Andie! Hello, Caroline.”

“Andie, nice to meet you. Lewis told us you’re Giovanni’s granddaughter.”

“Nice to meet you! Yes, I am. I think you knew my mom?" I suggested hesitantly.

"Oh yes! When your grandfather first moved here, your mother and I were teenagers. We used to get up to trouble all the time. You look a lot like her, actually. Except for the hair, of course." Caroline laughed, and I laughed with her. The daughter then cleared her throat, awaiting acknowledgement. "And this is my daughter, Abigail," Caroline added.

"Nice to meet you, Abigail," I said, nodding my head politely. Abigail seemed to be about the same age as me, early 20s ish. She had purple hair, and a sense of style that was completely her own.

"Nice to meet you. I heard someone new was moving onto that old farm. It's kind of a shame really. I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself."

"Well, you're welcome to come over any time you want. It's still overgrown, and probably will be for a while. It's a lot of work to clean up," I said with a laugh. She laughed lightly back.

"I'll keep that in mind. But that's okay, it's your home."

"Well, you're welcome to drop by anyways. I'd like the company," I said with a cheesy grin. She smiled in return. I didn’t really know how to make friends, I was used to spending most of my time alone at home as work usually had me exhausted of socializing by the end of the day. I supposed inviting someone over was a good start. "Anyways, I still have to run a couple other errands, so I should get going."

"Oh, too bad," Caroline said. "Feel free to drop by anytime, if you need a meal or just wanna chat. That place doesn't have a kitchen, if I remember correctly."

"You're right, but I couldn't impose."

"Of course not, it's fine! We'd love to have you."

"Thanks, Caroline. Nice to meet you both."

With that, I headed back off into the plaza and tried to decide where to go next. By this point in the afternoon, some people were heading over to the saloon for a drink or a meal. I thought about going in, but I wasn't in the mood for hanging out in a pub with too many people around. Instead, I decided to take a walk up the path to the mountain. Robin told me she lived up here with her family. She should still be working at this time, so I decided to pop in and say hello.

There was only one house along the mountain path, which made it an easy trek. It looked quite large, with a garage attached on one side and a telescope outside in the small yard at the opposite end. I edged my way into the door to see Robin sitting at a desk, leafing through a carpenter's magazine, but she looked up upon hearing the door creak.

"Farmer Andie! How has your first day been so far?"

"Not bad, Robin. I planted the parsnips that Mayor Lewis bought me, so the first crops are, uh, incubating," I joked. "I've never really had a green thumb so, I have no idea how this will turn out, but I met Pierre this morning and he gave me some tips."

"You met Pierre and his family? That's great! His daughter, Abigail, is close friends with my oldest, Sebastian. Here, let me introduce you to my family since you're here." She dragged me over to another room which looked like a laboratory. "This is my husband, Demetrius, and our daughter Maru!" Demetrius was holding some sort of samples inside of vials in each hand, while Maru was sat on a stool, reading a robotics book. "This is Farmer Andie!"

"Nice to meet you both," I said, looking between the two of them.

"Nice to meet you, Andie," Demetrius said, looking a little tied up with work. Both his hands were full, and he seemed to want to put them down to come over and say hello. “Oh, I don’t want to interrupt your work. We can shake hands another time,” I said in the kindest voice I could muster.

"He's studying plants and animals from the area," Robin explained.

"That sounds interesting." I noticed Maru seemed to be giving me her undivided attention.

"Hi, Farmer Andie. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. It's nice that you came to our little town. With a small place like this, a new face can really alter the community dynamic!" she said with a smile, as she came over to shake my hand.

"I hadn't really thought about it," I said, bashfully rubbing my neck with the other hand.

"You should meet my step-son, Sebastian," Demetrius chimed in, perhaps louder than necessary. "Maru is very busy, volunteering at Harvey's clinic and applying to Universities, but Sebastian could hang out with you if you need a friend."

"Demetrius, you know Sebastian is busy working too," Robin said, getting defensive over her son.

"Right, right. Of course. I only meant-"

"Anyways," Robin interrupted. "Let’s go downstairs."

With that Robin took me by the shoulders to the basement, seeming embarrassed by her husband’s attitude around their daughter. She barged us into the room at the bottom of the stairs. The basement was a little musty, lightly smelled of tobacco and weed, and was a little darker than the rest of the house as it had no windows.

"Sebastian, this is Farmer Andie. Please keep her away from Maru, thanks," Robin said with an awkward laugh.

I wasn't sure where to look in the darkened room, but I noticed a desk with a couple computers set up and, behind one of them, with the light from the screen shining on his face, sat Sebastian. He had dark ebony hair - a little long, spiky and asymmetrical - and a pale complexion with a slightly pointed face, much like Abigail actually. He looked up at his mom with a slightly annoyed look.

"I told you to please knock, mom," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm working."

"Sorry Sebastian, I just wanted to introduce you while she was over." Robin sounded like she was begging him to behave. Sebastian looked over at me, still annoyed.

"Hi..."

"Nice to meet you," I let out with a forced smile, starting to feel more than a little awkward. The family seemed so close, and bubbly. Well, except for Sebastian, I supposed. He seemed a little more introverted, like me. Then it was quiet between us.

"So, you just moved in. Cool. Out of all the places you could live, you chose Pelican Town?"

"The farm was my grandfather's. He chose Pelican Town." I explained. Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"And Demetrius is already playing protective dad with you, huh?" he asked with a laugh. I giggled back, not really knowing how to respond to that.

"Anyways! Glad you could meet each other," Robin said in a slightly high pitch. I found the fact that she was embarrassed by her family's behaviour a bit amusing: first Demetrius didn’t seem to want Maru around me, now Robin didn’t want Sebastian around me, though it seemed to be for a different reason. They really didn't meet new people often. I had the opposite problem - I met people all the time, it was getting to know them that was rare.

This was nothing like the city, where people hid their true selves and took on a business persona in order to get by. These people were just, themselves. They didn't have to be anyone else. Who would they even do it for? They all knew each other. There was nothing left to hide, really.

"Well, I would invite you to stay for dinner if you'd like. I know everyone's kinda busy today, but we all sit down together for dinner and you're more than welcome to stay."

"No, that's alright. I'm still getting settled in and I should really get used to eating my own food. I used to order in a lot; I need to learn to make things for myself."

"Alright. Don't be a stranger though, you're more than welcome to join us any day!"

"Thank you very much Robin, it means a lot to me. I haven't eaten with my family since I was living at home, during college."

"Oh, well, feel free. Any time at all. You're always welcome."

"Thank you, Robin. It means a lot."

 

Later that night, I stopped at the beach as it was one of the sights I hadn't gotten a chance to explore yet. On the way there, I met the sisters Emily and Haley. Haley was a little uptight and preppy, to the point of coming off as rude, but she was gorgeous so how many people would really hold her to that? Emily was eccentric and loved fashion, and she seemed a lot kinder. Once I got to the beach, I met Elliot, a writer, and Leah, an artist. They were both very nice, I wouldn't mind talking more sometime with them about what projects they were working on. They seemed to be good friends and were deep in conversation about an artist that I had never heard of before.

I left them and walked to the edge of the docks, where I thought I could finally be alone. I started to look out across the sea, when I soon realized an older gentleman was quietly fishing a few feet away in the darkness. I jumped slightly in surprise.

"Hello, ma'am. You the new farmer?" His voice was gruff, probably from a pipe I noticed he was smoking.

"Oh, yes. Sorry, I didn't think anyone else was out here at this time. I'm Andie."

" 'lo Andie, I'm Willy. I live in this here cabin. I come out sometimes at night, relax a bit and fish. You ever fish?"

"No. Not since my grandfather took me, anyway. And I just watched, so not really."

"I could give you an old rod, if you'd like to try it out. I just bought a new one; don’t need this old one no more. And you can’t farm all day. Gotta wait for things to grow too."

"Oh, that’s very kind, but you don't have to do that."

"Nonsense! I want to. Gotta keep the art of fishing alive somehow." He entered his cabin, and returned a minute later with an old fishing rod. "Here ya go!"

"Thank you. I'll have to learn how to fish," I said with a laugh, examining the fishing rod. It was a simple bamboo rod, but if it had been good enough for Willy it should be more than fine for me.

Willy gave me a nod.

"I should get to bed soon. Have a good night, ma'am." He turned the little mechanism that reeled in the fishing line and then retreated ito the fishig shop sitting on the dock.

"Goodnight, WIlly."

Finally, I was alone. For real. I let out a deep sigh. The townspeople could be a bit...much. They were all so kind though. It was just a lot, especially considering I was used to being left alone mostly. This was something I would have to get used to.

The ocean looked beautiful at night, but most of all, I had never seen so many stars in the sky. It was like a huge inky black sheet covering the entire sky with holes in it where the light shone through. I hadn’t seen this sight since I came to visit my grandfather, and remembering it was never the same as seeing it. The light from the stars twinkled on the ocean waves as they reflected the light back. It was beautiful out here.


	5. Chapter 5

I was a little uncertain about the whole fishing thing, but I tried it out in the small ponds around the farm first. I didn’t really like the idea of fishing, and killing the fish, but it was a way to feed myself and get a little extra spending cash. After actually catching a couple fish, I decided to hang out at the beach and catch some more for a while. With the new source of income, I was able to plant some new crops.

It was a couple weeks later when I had an unexpected knock on my door. I was getting ready to tend to the plants and water them, maybe even remove some more debris from the grounds, when the knocking interrupted my thoughts.

“Hello? Andie? It’s Marnie, from the ranch south of here.”

“One second!” I called as I finished getting my work jeans on and hurried over to the door.

When I opened it, I was face-to-face with Marnie, who I had only met once briefly at the Stardrop Saloon whilst she was speaking with Mayor Lewis. She was a short, pudgy, adorable woman with a round face and a love of animals. She wasn’t alone, however; I noticed she was partnered with a rather large dog.

“Hello, Marnie. And who’s this?” I asked, cooing at the dog. It appeared to be a brown Newfie. I had only ever had small dogs growing up at home. When I moved into an apartment, I couldn’t keep any pets though I had always wanted to get a dog to keep me company. Not that I would have had time to take care of it while working at Joja.

The dog looked confused and a little scared, but its tail betrayed its face as it wagged at hearing my voice.

“I found her hanging out around the entrance to your farm. I think she’s a stray, poor thing! She seems to like this place though.”

“Aww, she seems sweet.” I kneeled down to the dog’s level. “Come here, sweetie. No one’s gonna hurt ya.” I held my arms out for the pooch, who looked a little hesitant but took a couple steps forward. Just enough for me to scratch her head and ears. “Aww!”

“Hey, Andie, don’t you think this farm could use a good dog?”

“You found her. Are you sure you don’t want her?” I suggested.

“No, the chickens wouldn’t like her being around. We couldn’t take her on.”

“Well, I think she could warm up to me. I’ll take her in then, of course!” I felt I had acted on that childhood instinct, of bringing home bugs to keep as pets and not thinking about the care involved in it. At least at this age, I knew how to care for a dog and understood the effort involved. It was a little sudden, but I felt confident in my ability to handle her. Besides, I really could use the company while I was farming. “She doesn’t seem to have a tag. What should I call you? How about...”

I scratched her head a bit. She seemed shy, like perhaps she had come from being abandoned or abused. Underneath the shyness though, she seemed really sweet and gentle.

“You’re just a big, sweet girl, aren’t ya? How about...Honey?”

“Aww, Honey. That’s a cute name. You be a good pooch now, okay Honey?” Marnie gave Honey a little pat on the head. “I need to go tend to the cows. I’ll see you around, Andie.”

“See you, Marnie. I’m trying to save up for a coop, so maybe I’ll be coming to you for some animals some time. Until then though, see you around.”

And just like that, I had a dog. I poured her some water in one of my cereal bowls for now, until I could buy her one of her own, and fed her some dry bread to make friends. I didn’t have much else for her at this point in time.

When I went out to do my farming, she laid down on the porch and watched me lazily. I only had to water crops today. After that, I cleared out some more of the trees and weeds off my farm. When I was too tired to continue, I went inside and ate a small lunch of bread and peanut butter.

Today was Friday, the day of the week when most of the town hung out in the Saloon to wind down for the weekend. I wondered whether I wanted to go tonight as I headed off to Pierre’s to buy Honey some bowls, a bed and some food. I bought a collar and leash as well, and I could put Honey’s name on it myself.

I started off down the path back to the farm and, realizing I was alone, pulled out a joint and lit it. I was never a heavy weed smoker, but I enjoyed a cheeky joint every once in a while. I preferred it to drinking, personally. I still drank, but I would rarely get too drunk.

I set Honey’s things up in the house as I worked on the joint; I left the door and windows open to air out the smell a bit and I put some music on from the radio from the alternative station and started dancing lightly before I sat down at the table to make some notes of what I had accomplished today and what needed doing tomorrow.

Should I go to the Saloon? I should try to make some friends. Abigail seemed nice. She hung out with Sebastian, apparently, and I think Sam too? Sam, I had also only met briefly and he was in the same age group but he seemed nowhere near as dark as Abigail or Sebastian did. He was a real ray of sunshine, huge smile and happy voice. Abigail, I had gathered, had some occultic interests, but she seemed very friendly and easy to get along with. Sebastian was the most reserved of the group.

I took another long drag of the joint.

Even if they weren’t there, Emily seemed interesting and she worked there as a barmaid. Maybe I could sit at the bar and talk to her? Or maybe Elliot and Leah would let me join them. We could discuss artsy things.

As I pondered this, I heard some soft steps outside turning to hard wooden steps as they arrived onto the porch. I felt a small tinge of anxiety at the prospect of having unexpected company, but the weed helped me not let it get to me too much - better than I would be on my own anyway. I wasn’t used to having company. When Marnie came over this morning, I was in a hurry to answer the door and didn’t have time to consider it and over think it, but the footsteps left me time to think and worry as they approached.

“Hello?” I called over, turning to see the doorway from the table where I sat.

“Um, hi,” a small voice spoke from the doorway.

“Hi,” I said again, my now lazy brain forgetting I had already said that.

It was Sebastian. I hadn’t really spoken to him since we first met, but I had seen him around at the Saloon. I never went over to say hi though as I was usually in and out pretty quickly. I, admittedly, found him good looking, but I was always more so the type of person who needs to get to know someone before I knew if I really liked them. I wouldn’t mind getting to know him better though, as well as Abigail and Sam. I wasn’t sure if I should feel more or less nervous that it was him of all people at my door, but my body decided before my brain that we would calm down.

“Can I...come in?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry, come in.” I shuffled my papers and notebooks around as I took a last toke and put the now barely-there joint into my old plastic ashtray, sitting in the center of my dining table.

He stepped in carefully, looking around as he rubbed his arm shyly.

“You smoke?” he asked, quietly.

“Yeah, sometimes,” I replied with an almost equally quiet voice, not knowing how that would go over. I hadn’t even thought of that.

“Same. Sometimes,” he admitted. That made me feel a little more at ease. “Weed and cigarettes.”

“Oh, I used to smoke cigs sometimes in the city, but I never liked them much. More of a weed person,” I admitted. He nodded in response, looking thoughtful.

“Wow, this place is smaller than my basement.”

“Yeah. My grandpa didn’t really need much. I might ask your mom to upgrade this place. Maybe grandpa didn’t mind eating at the Saloon all the time, but I like being able to cook for myself, so I could really use a kitchen.” I finished tidying away my notes, then turned to face him and stood up. “Oh, this is Honey, by the way. Marnie brought her over this morning. She was a stray, but I’m taking her in.”

Sebastian allowed himself a small smile as Honey cautiously sniffed him out.

“Hi, Honey.” He gave her a scratch between her ears. She seemed to like that, of course.

“She’s a little shy. Anyways, what’s up? I mean, what-what brings you over?”

“Oh, right. So, Abigail and Sam wanted me to invite you to the Saloon tonight. We’re gonna play some pool and maybe some arcade games. Abigail won some money in the egg festival so she was gonna treat us to some drinks and she wanted to invite you too.”

“Oh, that’s awful kind. Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude,” I said, turning to my television set and mindlessly tidying up the area around it, including my shelf full of books and records - I had a small collection, but it was meaningful to me. I felt the urge to look somewhat busy, just in case I needed an excuse to say no. Sebastian took notice and walked over, just a few steps - not enough to seem like he was too comfortable.

“Naw, not at all. It’s really casual. I think you’ll fit in just fine. You collect records?”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t be a real singer if I didn’t listen to music the old fashioned way,” I joked. It then struck me that I hadn’t spoken much about my life back in Zuzu City; no one here knew that I sang.

“You’re a singer?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said bashfully. I hated telling people that. The first thing they always say is ‘Sing something!’ I hated that, being expected to have my voice ready without warning to sing.

“It’s okay, I won’t ask you to sing. Unless you want to. That’s cool though. Did you sing, like, in public?” I internally exhaled in relief.

“Yeah. I used to play at clubs for a little extra spending money. I never drew a big crowd, but I enjoyed it.”

“Cool. That’s what’s important, right?” he said, nodding and examining the pile of records.

“I think it is.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then. We’ll probably be there around 7.” With that, Sebastian meandered back over to the door.

“Sounds good. Yeah, I’ll come. See you there.”

“Alright. See ya there.”

“Bye, Sebastian.” His name felt interesting falling off my tongue, compelling even.

I enjoyed the rest of my high by watching some television with Honey by my side on the bed, leaning on my legs. She was a big girl, so my legs felt like they were falling asleep as they were crushed beneath her. As the high began to wear off though, I began to wonder what I should wear to the saloon tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy it so far!


	6. Chapter 6

I knew I didn’t have to wear anything fancy, but I still wanted to look presentable. That meant no farm clothes. I removed my blue jeans and plain black t shirt.

I examined myself in the mirror for a minute, sporting only my sports bra and my boyshort undies, and pinched a roll on my stomach. I had never been a skinny girl, but I didn’t mind too much. I was used to it, after all. Maybe once I had my kitchen and started cooking my own food, I’d end up losing some weight anyways. I used to eat out a lot back in the city, mostly Chinese take-out, thai food and pizza from my favourite shop. I had already not been eating as much lately, since I didn’t have much that I could make. Mostly I’d been eating snacks whenever I felt hungry, like granola bars and untoasted bread with peanut butter. I had probably already lost a little weight, honestly, but I didn’t have a scale and I never really checked anyways. I only really went off of look and feel. Well, living on a farm is the perfect opportunity to start eating healthier.

I pulled myself out of it, reminding myself I needed to get dressed.

I had always been a jeans and graphic t-shirt kinda person, so I decided on my black jeans, since they matched everything I could have wanted to wear. It was still Spring, and so the air was still warming up from Winter, so once I had decided on a graphic tee with the logo of one of my favourite bands on it, which I then layered a green and tan coloured flannel over. The look felt complete, at last.

 

Part of me wondered why Sebastian was sent to invite me rather than Sam or Abigail coming themselves; I had a feeling it was their idea to ask me to come, and not Sebastian’s. Those two seemed to be the more extraverted of the group after all. It probably wasn’t a big deal, but I couldn’t help but wonder. Sebastian seemed to hide a lot. Strange that in this place, where people seemed more honest about themselves, I could still find someone who hides.

I poured Honey a bowl of food for her dinner and, as she chowed down on it, I realized it was time to get going.

“See you, Honey. I won’t be gone too long, I think.”

She was barely paying attention to me as she continued to eat. I shook my head at her and locked the door behind me, then followed the path into town.

 

When I arrived at the Saloon, I realized I was the last of the group to arrive. I wasn’t used to that; in the city, a time was usually more of a suggestion and most would arrive whenever they felt like it, which usually meant late. I really didn’t think they would all be here on time. They were hanging out in the game room to the side of the main pub, where a pool table and a few arcade games stood waiting to be played. I waved hello to Gus, who owned the bar, and Emily, who helped make and serve drinks and food, before heading over to the room.

“Andie!” Sam said, excitedly.

“We weren’t sure you were coming!” Abigail then piped in.

“Well, I figured I could use an outing.” I scratched the back of my head, feeling slightly embarrassed. They had good reason to believe I might not want to join them. I had kept to myself mostly since moving here. The farm kept me busier than I thought it would, and once I was tired I preferred to stay home and watch TV, play guitar or listen to music. I hadn’t been seen about town much, enjoying myself. Usually, I was scurrying about to the ocean, and then to Pierre’s, and now I had also been visiting the mines, and then Clint’s, and the museum, and then back to the farm. Making enough money for my kitchen and a coop had been my focus as of late.

“So did we!” Abigail replied, honestly. Maybe too honestly.

“Heh, I know, I’m a bit of a loner sometimes. I’ve been so busy lately. I wasn’t, like, purposely hiding away or anything, I just have had so much setting up to do and cleaning,” I rattled on.

“We could tell, you didn’t even make it to the egg festival. Didn’t anyone tell you about it? I would’ve thought that Mayor Lewis at least would have invited you,” Sam asked.

“Yeah, he did, but then when the time came… I dunno, it just slipped my mind. I went into the mines to find some copper that day, I think, and I didn’t know what time it was.” Abigail released a large gasp.

“You went into the mines!” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah.” I let out a weak laugh. “Have you ever been?”

“It’s so dangerous. I’ve always wanted to explore though,” she laughed, tossing a tendril of purple hair over her shoulder. “My parents won’t let me.”

“If it makes you feel any better, it’s not that great. It’s dark, and it  _ is _ dangerous. Some of the monsters can be vicious.”

“But you’ve been able to handle them so far. I could train for it.”

It was then I noticed Sebastian hadn’t said a word. He seemed to be preparing a game of pool and sipping on a beer from time to time. Sam started preparing a pool stick as well. It seemed they’d play the first round.

“Yeah, maybe. I’d never swung a sword before I got here, but I’ve been alright so far. I hear the monsters get stronger the farther down you go.”

“That’s what the adventurer’s guild says. That’s so cool,” she sighed out. Abigail seemed to really have a heart for adventure, but I had been doing enough of that lately and I wanted to change the subject.

“I like your purple hair. What kind of dye do you use?”

“Funny you should ask. Oh, here, have a drink,” she said, handing me a beer from the round sitting on a tray on the table nearby.

“Oh, thanks,” I said, accepting the beer. I had never enjoyed beer much, but it was a free drink and, upon sipping it I realized, it was a relatively weak beer, which I preferred.

“So, the hair,” Abigail got back on track. “I dyed it once - it was brown before - and it just… stayed purple. I know that sounds really weird, but that’s what happened. Funny, huh!”

“Yeah, no kidding! I wish I didn’t have to dye mine, I’d save so much money. Well, not  _ have _ to dye it but, you know, have it be this colour but without the dye,” I said with a laugh.

“I was going to say, I love your colour too! Periwinkle is great!”

“Thanks! I think it’s probably my favourite colour. I really like purple too, though.”

“Thanks!” she beamed.

“I can’t believe it stays like that. Did you cast some kinda occultic, black magic on it or something,” I asked with a laugh.

“Not on purpose, at least,” she laughed.

“I still think that the wizard had something to do with it,” Sam piped in from the billiards table.

“Whatever, Sam. I don’t want to entertain your little conspiracy theory.”

“I’m just sayin’, maybe he saw you playing with ouija boards and such and thought to himself ‘ _ Finally, an apprentice! The prophecy will be fulfilled!’ _ ” Sam suggested, performing a mock old man voice, with a laugh.

“You do have that anime-protagonist-hair thing going on right now,” I joked.

After another round of drinks was ordered, Abigail asked me to play Journey of the Prairie King with her; it was one of the arcade games sitting against the wall.

“I’ve been playing this thing since I was a kid and I still can’t beat it. It’s impossible!”

“It’s not  _ impossible _ .” That was the first time that evening that Sebastian had spoken.

“Well, it’s like really, really hard.”

“Let’s see how hard it really is,” I said, pretending to crack my knuckles as I rested my hands on the joystick and button.

Abigail chuckled and joined me in playing. We were able to finish the first level, which thrilled Abigail, and got to what must have been damn near the end when we had finally been defeated for good.

Slightly disappointed but not too heartbroken, we sat down on the couch to finish off our drinks and watch the boys’ game of pool. Sebastian was utterly destroying poor Sam.

“Why do you even bother, Sam? Have you ever won a game, ever?”

“Shush!” he said, holding a finger up to Abigail as he lined up his shot. I noticed Sebastian smirking as he observed Sam’s deep concentration, knowing it would be futile most likely. Sam took his time to angle it just right, but the ball still missed its target and bounced off the side. Sebastian let out a small chuckle. Sam just looked irritated that he had failed, yet again.

“Well, that’s enough for tonight,” Sam said, putting the pool stick away. “Let’s head down to the beach,” he suggested.

“You just don’t wanna lose again,” Sebastian replied.

“I could do the beach, though,” Abigail jumped in.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said, downing the last of my drink.

We brought our glasses up to Gus at the bar and then meandered out into the plaza. It was a little chilly out. I shoved my hands into my jean pockets in an attempt to keep them warm. As we neared the edge of town, Sebastian pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it in one swift motion. I watched as a petite plume of smoke escaped his lips after a small drag. The greyness of the smoke made the paleness of his face even more noticeable, even in the darkness of the night.

I turned away to look up and admire the stars for a bit. They looked particularly lovely in my slightly tipsy vision.

“I bet you don’t see stars like this in the city,” Sam said with a big grin.

“You’re right, you sure don’t.” I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck, looking down at the ground.

“So, what was life like in the city? What did you used to do?” Abigail asked as the stone bridge soon gave way to squishy sand under our feet.

I knew this question would be coming, but how to answer it was what I had wondered. I let my slightly drunken mind lead the way, for now.

“Well, I worked in the Joja offices. Pretty boring stuff. I was just a cog in the machine, really. Anyone could have done my job. It was  _ really _ boring.”

“Well, you must have done something besides work,” Abigail pressed on.

“You’re right, you’re right. I was also a singer.”

“A singer!” Sam shrieked a bit too loud.

“No way.”

“Yeah, heh. I used to sing at little clubs and stuff. It made me happy to do it.”

“We have a band!” Sam blurted out.

“Really? That sounds cool. What kind of music do you play?”  
“Well…”

“We aren’t really sure yet,” Abigail jumped in. “What kind of music do you like to sing?”

“I’ll sing almost anything, to be honest. Singing just makes me happy.”

We walked to the end of the pier where Sam, Abigail and I sat down, legs hung off the edge. Sebastian stood slightly off to the side to work on his cigarette.

“Well, we’re kinda between electro and rock music. I don’t really know what would be best for us.”

“I’m partial to rock myself. What instruments do you guys play?”

“Seb, programmer by day, plays the keyboard by night. I play drums in between my online college courses and tarot card readings. And little Samwise here has worked part-time at JojaMart in order to support his music career and eventually buy a guitar.” Abigail ran down in a dramatic voice before looking at me expectantly. “So you see, all we’re really missing is a singer. Farmer in the streets, hard rockin’ frontwoman in the sheets?”

“You want me to join you guys?” I asked, holding a hand to my chest. “I really want to, I’m just so busy some days. I think I could make time for it though. I would really like to have a reason to sing for people again.”

“ _ Please _ ! You sang in the city! I think you’d be great for us,” Sam begged.

“Okay. Yeah! I think I’ll do it!”

“Yes! You hear that Sebastian? We’re that much closer to being a real band now!”

“…Cool.” Sebastian said it with such aloofness. I had a feeling it was more Sam’s band than anyone else’s. Sebastian probably was just dragged along because they needed a keyboard player and he was their friend. At least he played along, I suppose.

It went quiet for a moment after that. I stared out into the vastness of the dark ocean. Between the sky and the sea, it looked like an empty void. Almost like a black hole, completely devoid of light. The stars and the moon were the only assurance that the light could still be found.

As Sebastian finished his cigarette, he took a seat next to me along the dock but kept his distance from me. I glanced over at him, only briefly, while he shifted into a comfortable position. The lack of illumination brought his features out in a dark, slightly twisted way. I had to mentally smack myself away. Again, it may have been the beers, but he looked quite attractive in this light. He was absolutely my type, unfortunately: darker clothes, a little quiet and moody, and more of a smoker than a drinker. I had to do something about this little crush of mine. I had other things to work on.

I tried to focus on another conversation Abigail and Sam had started about the band’s name and genre but I was now intoxicated by a new drug: the sweet scent of the tobacco coming off of Sebastian, only a couple feet away from me. It wasn’t like the chemical-scented Joja cigarettes that were absolutely disgusting; even when I used to smoke, I hated those. No, this smelled almost fresh. Maybe they were more natural? Not that that makes smoking better for you or anything, it’s still smoking, but I had to wonder. Infused with the tobacco was another scent I couldn’t quite make out; was it the mountain air, fresh rain woven into the fabric of his black hoodie from the other day, the weak scent of a citrus-ey joint filled with a nice sativa?

I heard my name in conversation, which pulled me out of my thoughts.

“What do you think, Andie?”

“Uh, I’m sorry.” I shook my head slightly as though that would settle my attention. “I was thinking about stuff I have to do tomorrow.” Abigail smirked mischievously.

“We were just discussing whether you were daydreaming about some boyfriend you left behind in the city,” she said with a laugh. Sam joined her in laughing, but Sebastian remained silent. I didn’t look over at him to see his expression though. 

I felt a blush of pink forming in my cheeks.

“That’s not quite it,” I said, with a slight laugh, trying to be in on the joke. “There was no boyfriend. There was no anyone for me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“No, no. It’s fine. You didn’t mean it. I’m just…still not used to getting to know people. I mostly avoided people in the city.”

“Well, you can’t avoid us!” Abigail said.

“No matter how hard you try,” Sam added in. I laughed along.

“Maybe that’s a good thing for me right now.”

All I could think about was grabbing Sebastian’s stupid face and kissing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

I awoke the next day, unintentionally releasing a groan which took Honey, who had been lying on me, by surprise. She jumped and then stared at me, looking confused as to why I had moved, but shifted so that she was no longer leaning on me. I stretched out my limbs and then stared up at the ceiling for a moment. I realized I had the slightest headache, but thankfully I wasn’t too hungover. Probably just a little dehydrated. I thought back to last night for a moment, how my emotions had started to get the best of me. I needed to do something to stifle these feelings. I always did this to myself; I get my hopes up, and they get crushed every single time. He probably didn’t even like me. It was hard to tell what he really thought as he was so hard to read. I couldn’t let myself get carried away again.

“No more drinking for me, Honey.” She simply stared at me with her sad eyes. “Here, you probably have to go outside.”

I hopped up and she followed me off the bed. I opened the door to let her out, and then started getting changed for the day when I noticed I had a text. It was from Sam:

_ Impromptu band practice today at 2? Let me know! _

Really, I only had to water the plants today, but I did want to go into the mines. I slept in, so I didn’t really have time to go before practice but maybe I could go later in the evening.

Once I had my day planned out, I returned a ‘ _ yes _ ’ to Sam and got to work in the garden.

 

I warmed up my voice, running some scales, as I quickly changed into my street clothes and then ran out the door, not wanting to be too late. When I got to Sam’s place, I waved to Jodi and Vincent who were sitting in the living room and watching a children’s show together, and then hurried towards Sam’s room, hearing their light conversation.

“Do you think Mayor Lewis would let us play at the Flower Dance?”

“Hell no! He takes it so seriously. Like, it has to be just like it was when he was a kid.”

“Hello,” I chimed as I entered the room and closed the door. I was, indeed,  the last one to arrive again.

“Hey Andie! We were just discussing where we could get our first gig. Let’s practice for now though. We’ll see what kind of sounds we can make,” Abigail said from behind a drum kit sitting in the corner of the room. Sebastian was stood behind a keyboard on a stand, and Sam was in the middle of the room with his guitar hanging around his shoulders.

“Do you write music? None of us are all that good at it,” Sam admitted.

“Well, I have written music before. I don’t know if I’d say I’m good at it or anything.”

“That’s good enough. We’ve been working on this song for that past while, maybe you can add some lyrics and a melody?”

“I’ll try,” I said shyly.

“Okay, here, we’ll show you how it goes.” Sam hit record on his phone to record the jam.

They began to play an indie rock sounding song. It was definitely rock, but there was a softness to it like a love song. The guitar rhythm was a little bluesy sounding too. I could see where they had a bit of an identity crisis around genre, but what they had going sounded cool to me.

I tried to sing something that felt like it fit. I tried to make it sound romantic, but still kinda angsty and troubled.

I continued to improvise until the song ended and Sam hit stop on his phone’s recording app. The three looked at each other, making eyes that meant something I couldn’t quite make out.

“What’s up? Did it sound good?” I asked. I wasn’t confident about much in life, but my singing was something I had learned to be proud of in the past few years; it was something I could rely on in my life. I wanted to know, straight up, how it went.

“That was… really great,” Sebastian said, mouth slightly hanging agape. I was surprised to hear him break his cool, guarded visage. Sam and Abigail looked a little shocked too.

“That’s exactly what we needed!” Abigail shrieked. “Here, Sam, play it back. I’ll write the lyrics down.”

“I can write them down if you want. I sang them, so the lyrics could be my job,” I suggested. “Did you like the words? I just made up whatever, so you could give me some suggestions on what to change.”

“We could make a few changes, but that was amazing! A little raspy, and powerful. It was perfect!”

“You’re all so kind. I’m sure it wasn’t  _ perfect _ , but I’m glad you liked it.”

“Better than Sam’s singing anyways, heh,” Abigail joked. Sam shot her a slightly annoyed look, but softened immediately afterwards, evidently not too offended by the joke.

“You’re right though,” he admitted. “And Seb, you liked it too. It’s so perfect! We need you in this band! You are gonna stay right?”

Sebastian’s cheeks turned a soft pink right at the most rounded part of his elf-like face. He turned down to his keyboard and started fiddling with some chords.

“Yeah! I could use a creative outlet. Can’t farm all the time, right?”

“Yes! Okay, so we kind of have a sound. We’ll work on some more songs, and then we’ll just need a name! Do you think you could work on some lyrics, Andie?” Abigail asked.

“Yeah, I’ll try.”

“Abigail, maybe you could figure out a cool name? Maybe something related to the dark arts?” Sam suggested.

“Fuck yeah. We’re a band!” Abigail cheered. The energy in the room was so positive and light, it made my heart feel just a little tight. I wouldn’t have thought I’d be in a band after leaving the city, but I was glad to have this as an outlet while I was living here.

“Fuck yeah!” Sam said just a little too loudly.

“Samson!” Jodi called from the other room. I didn’t even consider that we could be heard outside Sam’s room. “Your brother is in here and he can hear you! Watch the language, please!”

Sam smacked a hand to his forehead in embarrassment.

“Fuck yeah,” I whispered so that Jodi couldn’t hear. This earned a laugh from everyone in the room. Even Sebastian smiled a bit. “Your name is Samson?” I asked, realizing what I had heard. More giggles ensued around the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing these chapters, I was still getting back on writing as a practice so they're a bit shorter. Longer ones are coming though, I promise. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8

Band practices had been pretty steady, almost every day or every other day until I received a mysterious text from Abigail a day before the Flower Dance, which I was convinced I should attend. I missed the Egg Festival, so I should probably try to make an appearance to another social event, especially since things have settled a bit on the farm.

That day, I had just finished up watering the vegetables and harvesting some cauliflowers so I returned inside to wash up for lunch when I noticed the message on my phone:

 

_ 9PM, my room. Wear black. Bring candles and crystals if you have any. _

 

I didn’t have a problem with Abigail being interested in magic or anything, but this made me a bit nervous. I suppose I wasn’t sure what would happen. More specifically, I wasn’t sure what I would do or how I would react. I trusted Abigail though.

I noticed the text wasn’t a suggestion, it was a demand. Probably more so to remain in the spirit of… whatever it was we were doing, but I wasn’t sure if I should respond or not. I spent back a thumbs up anyways.

The only crystals had around at the moment were amethyst, which Abigail liked so I figured I’d bring some for her anyways. I also found a frozen tear the other day and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I had a faint feeling that Sebastian might like it, but I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea; I couldn’t be with him. But if I was giving Abigail some crystals anyways, maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal. I didn’t have anything for Sam though. Maybe I’ll pick up a Joja cola from the Saloon before I head over. I’ve seen him drinking those during band practice sometimes.

 

Wearing all black was easy as most of my wardrobe was black. It was my preferred colour; I felt the most confident, the most ‘me’ while wearing black. I packed the gifts into my bag and then hurried off to the Saloon to grab the Joja cola. Once everything was in order, I walked through the dark plaza to Pierre’s shop.

I tried the door, but it was locked. I knocked after that and stood for a moment in the quiet of the town. The only sounds were the occasional stragglers leaving or arriving at the Saloon at this hour, and a few forest sounds such as rustling bushes from squirrels. I watched Marnie and Mayor Lewis leaving the bar together when I heard some footsteps in the dark. I turned around to see Sebastian arriving at that same time. He looked surprised to see me.

“Oh, hey,” he said weakly.

“Hey Sebastian.” I finally heard steps on the other side of the door. Abigail had arrived to open it.

“Hey Abby.”

“Come in, you guys!” she ushered as she grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me over to her room. Sebastian followed closely behind.

Abigail’s room was entirely dark except for groups of candles sitting at various points in the space, mostly scattered around the ground. Sam was already here, sitting on the ground in front of what I realized was a ouija board.

“Watch out for the candles and take a seat,” she ordered. Sebastian and I took a seat across from Sam, and Abigail finished lighting a couple more candles before sitting down herself.

“Hey Sam,” I whispered.  
“Hey Andie! Glad you could make it!” He smiled his golden little smile, glowing even in the dark. It was weird to see him wearing all black. I didn’t think he even owned anything black, except for maybe a suit or something.

“Same. Whatever this is,” I said glancing around.

“So,” Abigail said confidently, ready to host whatever was about to happen. “As you all know, we’ve been struggling to choose a name for our band that fits our style. We attempted to go under the name the Alfalfas, which went… poorly.”

“Hey, I still think that was a good name,” Sam whined from the darkness.

“It wasn’t,” Sebastian said, judgmentally.

“That doesn’t matter now. We’re here to ask the wisdom of the spirits what name is in store for us. Where does our destiny lie?”

“Is this a good time to take the crystals out?” I whispered.

“Yes! Please, do,” Abigail said.

“Alrighty. Here is an amethyst.” I removed it from my bag and handed it over to Abigail, who took it in her hand and held it to a candle light to admire. “Here is a frozen tear. I thought you might like this, Sebastian.” I shyly handed it over to him.

He seemed surprised from where he sat, his knees pulled up to his chin. He looked down at it peculiarly before finally removing it from my hand. His finger brushed against my palm so gently, it sent a tingle along my arm. Don’t let him distract you, I told myself.

“You’re right. I do like this.” He sounded almost embarrassed to admit it. “Thanks.”

“And for Sam, a Joja cola. I know it’s not a gem but...I didn’t want to leave you out. Maybe wait ‘til later to drink it.”

“Aw, thanks,” he said taking it from my extended arm, over the board.

“I don’t think a can of soda will help the ritual,” Abigail joked. “But anyways, let us move on. Everyone, now is the time to lay your fingers upon the planchette.”

I wasn’t sure how exactly to place my fingers, so I followed Abigail’s guide and laid each of my index fingers upon the top of the planchette, as did Sam and Sebastian. The surface was a little crowded, which became a bit of a problem as Abigail warmed up the board by purposely pushing the planchette into circles and my fingers almost slipped off.

“Spirits, please guide us in our endeavour, in finding a word or words that will define us, that will get us noticed, that will be our success… or our downfall. Spirits, are you there?” Abigail closed her eyes as she stopped moving the planchette. Sam audibly gulped down hard, as the rest of us followed for a moment, until…

The planchette began to move. We all opened our eyes simultaneously and watched in awe as it slowly swam over to the  _ Yes _ in the corner of the board. Abigail released a breath she had been holding in.

“Thank you for giving us a sign, spirit. Now, if you can, please tell us a name that will be our guide through this part of our lives, a name for our career in the musical arts.”

The planchette began to move again, slowly walking its way over the alphabet stopping at letters along the way. Abigail read aloud as it spelled:

“F-I-R-E-Q-U-A-R-T-Z. Fire Quartz?” she asked.

The planchette moved once again to the  _ Yes _ .

“Thank you, spirits. You have been a great help. Now, return to your rest.” Abigail helped us move the planchette to the  _ Goodbye _ , and then flipped the planchette over.

We let out sighs of relief and sat back comfortably in our places.

“Wow,” Sebastian released like a breath.

“That was so weird,” I said, feeling not quite right after this supernatural experience. My stomach was slightly woozy all of a sudden.

“Yeah… so, I guess we’re Fire Quartz,” Sam whispered excitedly.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Abigail said, coming out of her more mystical state of mind and speaking more normally again.

“Fire Quartz. That sounds fucking cool. Like, the passion of fire with the mysticism of crystals,” I said, thinking aloud. We all turned to Sebastian then.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I guess that’s cool.”

“Now we have a name! We can look for a gig and play in front of people. I’ll start looking immediately,” Sam explained.

“Sounds great! Anyways, I should get home. Honey will be wondering where I am.” I began to get up when Abigail cried,

“No, wait a minute!”

“What is it? Do we have to do something else so that spirits don’t, like, cross over or something?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that Sebastian had something he wanted to ask you. Isn’t that right, Sebastian?” she asked him through gritted teeth.

Sebastian still seemed a little spooked by the ouija board, but pulled himself out of his daze upon hearing Abigail talking about him.

“Oh, really? What is it?” I asked as naively as possible.  _ Please don’t get my hopes up, I can’t go through this right now _ .

“I don’t. I don’t have anything I wanted to ask,” he said stubbornly.

“Really? ‘Cause earlier, I thought I heard you saying-” Sam tried to save.

“Well, you were wrong.” Sebastian turned away, his hair covering half his face so that I couldn’t make out his expression.

So, he didn’t want to ask me something that Abigail and Sam thought he did? I would probably torture myself all night, wondering what they were talking about. Hopefully it wouldn’t keep me up too late. I had a feeling in my chest, that light feeling you get when your emotions get the best of you. I couldn’t do this now. I had to leave.

“Well, I really have to go, so if there’s nothing-”

“It’s fine, we’ll talk tomorrow, okay Andie?” Abigail suggested. I released a heavy sigh.

“Okay, I guess. See ya!” I headed out of the door to Abigail’s room and began to head towards the front door of the shop, when I realized I could hear them whispering from the other side of the door. I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but it was in my nature. I gave in and slowed my walk to a stop, and stepped back a bit to listen, hoping they thought I’d left already.

“Sebastian! Why didn’t you ask her to the Flower Dance?” Abigail’s voice grilled him.

“I don’t have to ask her just because my mom feels bad for her. She’s the one who thinks Andie might feel left out, not me. Maybe my mom should dance with her if she’s so worried. Besides, our moms always make us dance together and who will you dance with if I danced with her?”

“I’ll figure it out, we can swap people around, Seb. It’s not a big deal. Maybe I can dance with Sam and Penny can dance with someone else, I don’t know. That’s not the point!”

“Well, what is the point then?”

It went quiet for a moment. I wondered if I should leave. I got what I wanted: his mom wanted him to ask me to the dance so that I wouldn't be left out. I should have been satisfied knowing this, and yet I couldn’t help but stick around. What was the point?

“Well, it’s just…”

“We kinda thought...you and her had a lot in common. Maybe you could even get to like her?” Sam suggested weakly, expecting some backlash perhaps.

“We do? Like what, exactly?” Sebastian asked viciously.

“Well, you both wear a lot of black, and are a little more quiet. I dunno, I think you guys could…fit together.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“Why are you so defensive when we talk about her? Do you hate her? Do you not like that she’s in the band, or that she’s hanging out with us?” Abigail went back to her grilling of him. “You seem like you have some kinda issue with her, what is it?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I dunno, it’s just… why did she leave the city to come here, to Pelican Town? It doesn’t make sense. Everything is in the city. What could you possibly obtain from Pelican Town that can’t be found in the city: there are jobs, lots of people, music and entertainment. We have nothing out here. Nothing!”

“Don’t say that, Seb. Of course we have our own things out here. And just because you have these pipe dreams about the city doesn’t mean it’s without its faults.”

“Ugh,” Sebastian grunted. “I’m going home, this conversation is over.”

Realizing he was likely standing up and heading for the door, I hurried out of the shop and ran all the way home, hoping my footsteps weren’t too loud to be noticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

I pondered about what Sebastian had said for most of that night. I didn’t really think about the fact that a lot of the townspeople might have dreams of moving to the city. I had just developed such an aversion to it, I assumed the downsides were obvious. If what Sam and Abigail said is true, and Sebastian and I were alike, then I couldn’t imagine him enjoying the city much: it’s loud, people don’t care about you except for their own gains, and there’s no fucking escape from the all the swathes of people. Even in your own apartment, the walls are paper thin; how many nights of passion had I overheard? How many heated arguments over whose turn it was to do dishes or take out the garbage? How many parties featuring loud hip hop music that ended far too late in the night for me to get enough sleep for work?

Then again, perhaps we really weren’t so alike. Maybe he would love that. The pulse of the city beating all around, neon-lit streets that always felt more poetic after a couple shots of tequila, hearing anything other than crickets and rain at night? What did I know about him or who he was? Not a whole lot.

Then I thought back to the beginning of their conversation. Robin had set Sebastian on a mission to make me feel welcome? That was really kind of her, but hardly necessary. I felt more than welcomed as it was, and Sebastian clearly seemed embarrassed at his mother telling him what to do.

Why were the people here so willing to invite me in before they knew a single thing about me? This just wasn’t what I was used to, I told myself, but I would try to find ways to reciprocate. I had to put on my big girl pants and figure out how relationships are done in the valley. That was why I came here, wasn’t it? That’s what grandpa said he found when he came here: real relationships that were meaningful. It was the very thing I had lacked in my old life. I must have had more in common with my grandfather than I thought.

Somewhere amidst all the thoughts and notions swirling around my head, I did eventually find sleep.

 

When I woke up, the first thought on my mind was  _ Flower Dance _ . I hoped to Yoba that no one would ask me to dance. I hated dancing. Whenever I was invited out to a nightclub back in the city, it usually resulted in me standing in the corner and nursing a drink while I watched my coworkers dancing flirtatiously, and often meeting men to go home with. These outings had only happened a small handful of times, but each bad experience made me hate it more, and made me feel more hesitant to agree to another such outing. Eventually, I stopped going.

I sighed as I got up and got to work. Honey meandered around the farm, sniffing at trees and weeds as she explored. If only I could bring her with me, she’d ease my anxiety a bit. I didn’t want to risk her ruining the dance somehow. I could have had a joint to soothe these worries, but I didn’t want to risk being found out, plus I wanted to use my stash slowly, so I’d have to manage it alone this time around.

I had a couple dresses, all black of course. One had a pattern of tiny white flowers on it though, and it seemed the most appropriate. I threw it on with a plastic choker, and a pair of sneakers. I usually only wore mascara, but I was in the mood for some eyeliner and a wing, so I spent most of the morning agonizing over the symmetry of my eyeliner. It was a nice distraction from worrying about the event.

It started at 9 AM, which didn’t leave me a lot of time to worry before I was forced to set myself on the road. I said goodbye to Honey and grabbed my bag before I heading towards the southern edge of Nightshade Farm. In his letter, Mayor Lewis described a clearing on the other side of the forest where the event took place every year. I hadn’t even explored that side of the forest yet but, thankfully, it was easy to find thanks to the colourful banners which led across a small wooden bridge.

The large clearing was lined with the banners strung from pole to pole. Pierre had a small shop set up near the entrance where he was selling beautiful flower arrangements in baskets. I waved at him as I walked by and he waved as well.

“Hello, Farmer Andie! Care to buy some flowers?”

“Maybe I’ll grab some when I’m on my way out. They look absolutely gorgeous!”

“Thank you! Enjoy the Flower Dance! Has anyone asked you to dance yet?”

“No, heh.” I rubbed my arm mindlessly.

“I’m sure they will. Get out there! Abigail should be around somewhere.”

“Okay. Thanks Pierre, see you later.”

As I entered the large clearing, I began to feel a slight shakiness in my knees. I tried to trudge through as I figured out where everyone was hanging out. Leah and Elliot were hanging out by the river, probably deep in conversation by now. I didn’t feel like even attempting to intrude. Robin, Demetrius, Jodi and Caroline seemed to be conversing as well. I didn’t fancy being the only young adult in a circle of parents, probably discussing their children. Beyond that, there was a table with a beautiful buffet of food, the star of which being a large, hearty turkey. Around the table stood Pam, Shane and Abigail filling their plates to the brim. Food seemed like a good distraction for now.

I forced my legs to move to stand near where Abigail was and I noticed Sam and Sebastian were, naturally, not far away leaning against the fence that ended the festival space. Abigail noticed me and tried to wave, which nearly sent her plate flying.

“Whoa!” I grabbed the other edge of her plate just in time to stop it from flopping over onto the ground.

“I might have gone a little overboard with the food. Gus is just such a great chef. I might not fit into the flower dress after this,” she chuckled as she got a better grip on the plate and shoveled some turkey and coleslaw into her mouth, seeming to melt right into it.

“That looks delicious. I’m gonna have to grab some too,” I said with a laugh, grabbing a plate and piling up. I also poured myself some white wine, which had mainly been drunk by Pam and Shane already I noticed, but I managed to scoop some up.

“So, you have to dance in front of everyone soon? How does this work?” I asked as I doused my turkey in gravy.

“Yeah. We have to put on these corny white dresses and ugly blue suits, that barely even fit us anymore, and we have to do this stupid dance that we’ve been doing since we were children. It’s so embarrassing, no one likes doing it. We just do it to please the oldies who are nostalgic for their childhoods. Well, actually, Haley likes it, but only because she gets crowned the Flower Queen every year. And the only reason why she gets crowned is because she’s the only one who takes it seriously.”

“Eek. I’m glad I haven’t been asked to dance.” I half-wondered if me saying this would prompt her to reveal Robin’s plan for Sebastian to me personally, but she seemed quick to continue on.

“Yeah, you lucky bitch! You’re just lucky you moved here so recently, they couldn’t get their hands on a dress for you. Come on, let’s go check in on Sam and Seb.”

We took a couple steps away from the table to rejoin the boys’ conversation. They each had a glass of wine sitting on the fence that they seemed to be sipping on rather slowly.

“Are you boys ready for your little dance?” I teased.

“Ugh,” Sebastian simply said as he stabbed into his coleslaw.

“It can’t be  _ that _ bad.”

“It’s  _ that _ bad,” Sam said with a laugh. “No one’s asked you to dance, Andie?”

“No! And I’m a hundred percent okay with that, especially hearing about these itchy, frilly little dresses and tuxes. Yeah, I’m good.” I chuckled.

“Mom reminded me we’re on at 10. Ugh, that’s way too soon. I’m still gonna have a massive food baby at 10. I need more time to digest,” Abigail whined. This earned a laugh from Sam.

“Then don’t eat so much food!”

“But it’s so good,” she moaned, her mouth full of turkey.

“So, who usually dances then?” I asked, wondering who else was usually paired.

“Well, our parents matched me and Seb many many years ago, so now we just kinda always dance together.” Another groan could be heard from Sebastian as he forked his food hard over and over again. “Sam dances with Penny because, again, Pam and Jodi paired them up years ago and they got to know each other a little bit so it just kinda stuck. Haley dances with Alex, because of course she does. Leah and Elliot dance together, and Maru dances with Harvey, because they work together, and Emily dances with Shane. The only people who are single who don’t dance are Clint, Gus, and Marnie.”

“Well, I dunno if I would call Marnie single,” Sebastian joked snidely. Him and Sam started cackling together, but Abigail looked annoyed and punched them both in the arm.

“Shut up! Her and Mayor Lewis will tell people when they’re ready!”

“Heheh,” Sam chuckled, slightly embarrassed about poking fun at them. “Pam is single too.”

“Well, I think Pam has  _ other _ things she’s married to right now, if you catch my drift.” Pam’s alcoholism was no secret to the town, as I had suspected. I saw at her at the saloon every single time I had entered, without fail, and she was always a few drinks deep already. “As for Clint, well, I think he has a pretty big crush on Emily, and Gus is too busy with the Saloon for a real relationship.”

“Gus and Emily are always working together. Maybe they’ll get together,” I suggested.

“Gus is so much older than her though.”

“So is Clint,” Sam added.

“Poor guy. I don’t think Emily will ever catch on that the fella loves her to death!”

Our gossip came to a slow as we continued to munch on our meals, and soon everyone had to get ready for the dance. I was so sure I had gotten away clean when, just before the three of them could leave to get dressed, Robin approached and put an arm around me and Sebastian. I had an inkling of where this was going, and I knew immediately that what was coming would be embarrassing for both Sebastian and myself.

“So…” she said, looking at one of us and then the other. Did she know that Sebastian hadn’t asked me to dance? “Are you two going to be dancing together in the Flower Dance?” she asked, in a vague way that made perfect room for whatever might have gone down between us behind her back.

“Oh, heh, I don’t know Robin. I’m not much of a dancer,” I explained turning away, my cheeks flushing warm.

“Neither is Sebby, but he does it every single year! It just makes Demetrius and I - well, mostly me - so proud!” She pinched one of Sebastian’s pink cheeks, which turned immediately bright red.

“Mom, please!” he shoved her off in, perhaps, a more aggressive way than necessary. I could tell Robin was hurt by this. Her eyes turned sad.

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t want to embarrass you, I just thought… I thought you two were going to dance together so… it wouldn’t be such a big deal.” Perhaps she thought Sebastian had asked me after all.

Sebastian released an audible groan and lifted his hands to his forehead in a weary kind of way.

“I just got done telling Caroline that Abigail could dance with Sam, and Penny could watch over the kids instead of participating this year.”

“Well, I’m glad you just have this all planned out for me. Plan out my day, plan out my life, control every little detail-”

“Sebastian, you know that’s not what I meant to do.”

“But it’s what you did!” he yelled a bit too loud. Gus, Willy and Pam who were nearby looked over, which I could tell made Sebastian feel the need to end the conversation immediately. “Fuck this, I’m not even gonna do the dance. For what?” With that, he stormed away into the forest, hands shoved into his pockets in fists.

“Sebastian, wait! Please!”

As I watched him leave, I felt extraordinarily guilty. If I wasn’t here, everything would have just gone smoothly, there would have been no argument over this. Robin looked utterly defeated, unsure of whether to follow him or not. Caroline, noticing the commotion, approached Robin from behind with Demetrius not far off.

“Robin? Are you okay, honey?”

“I just don’t know what to do with him sometimes, Caroline.” Robin was now the one, holding her hands over her eyes. I noticed the first heave as she began to sob.

“Oh,” Caroline released, pulling Robin in for a hug. “Come here. It’s okay, he’s just becoming a young man. He hasn’t figured it all out yet. It’s okay, sweetie, there there.”

“I need to have a talk with that boy. I will not let him disrespect his mother like this!” Demetrius said, fists balled about to storm off after Sebastian.

I had one of those ‘now or never’ moments in my mind. Demetrius seemed to only want to add fuel to the fire. I had a feeling that wasn’t what was needed right now. I had to make a decision about how to, hopefully, make this right.

“Wait, Demetrius!” I called before he could leave the clearing underneath another banner of colourful flags. He stopped and turned to see me, but seemed to have all intention of pushing forward.

“What is it, Andie? I don’t want him to get too far away.”

“Maybe… maybe I should go after him.”

“What? No way, he needs a parent right now, someone who will set him right and teach him respect!”

“Well, not to be too facetious, sir, but how’s that been going for you?” Demetrius looked torn. He so badly wanted to give Sebastian that stern talking to, man to man, but I think part of him saw my point, that maybe it was worth trying something different.

“No. I just need to be harder on him. He’ll get there, eventually.”

“Demetrius, wait!” Now, it was Robin who had stopped him from moving even another step further. “Maybe Andie has a point.”

“Surely, you don’t think this-this child will understand our family’s… dynamic, our situation.”

“To be frank, dear,” she replied with a sniffle. “I don’t think you being angry and yelling at him will help.”

Demetrius looked frustrated but, without his wife’s permission, continuing on would look stubborn beyond compare. He had no choice but to retreat. He let out a deep sigh and stepped aside.

“Fine. Andie, please bring my step-son back.”

“I’ll try my best. You can let the Flower Dance start without us; I have a feeling, even if he comes back, he won’t be in the mood to put up with a dance.”

I began walking towards the exit of the clearing, where Sam and Abigail had stood during the whole debacle. They approached me with worried looks on their faces.

“Are you sure you want to go alone?” Abigail asked.

“Seb can have a real temper sometimes. We can come with you, just in case-” Sam tried.

“No. This was my fault. I should be the one to talk to him.”

“This isn’t your fault, at all, Andie. He just gets like this sometimes.”

“It’s okay. I want to do this.”

I walked past them and started to search around the forest paths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

I tried a few paths, coming up empty each time, until finally I caught a waft off of a cigarette down a less carved out path.

“S-Sebastian?” I called. I continued down the path, trying to follow my nose towards the scent. “I can smell your cigarette!”

I continued my search of the nearby bushes until I noticed a plume of smoke billowing from behind one of them.

“Sebastian?” My heart was pounding in my chest, making me a little lightheaded. I approached the bush and pushed it aside to check behind it, and there he was.

He was sitting curled up, with his head buried into his knees, pulled up to his chest. Because of his dark mop of hair, I couldn’t see his face at all. His cigarette stuck in between two of fingers, held casually over his other arm around his legs.

“Go away,” I heard his muffled voice say. He didn’t sound like he was crying. No, I didn’t take him to be a crier anyways.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, but I think we should talk.”

“You’d be right about me not wanting to talk to you.”

“Well… I’m not gonna leave.” I sat down near him to get to his level, hoping being sat would also stop my wooziness. I took a moment to gather my thoughts and I just… watched him.

He pulled his head away from his knees to take another drag off his cig. His lips wrapped around it in such a practiced way that the slight shake in his hand didn’t affect him much. I wondered if he’d even look at me while his head was up, and I was right in supposing that he wouldn’t. Once he’d blown out a cloud of smoke, he leaned back into his knees again. I released a heavy sigh as I prepared to speak.

“Are you still here?” he asked.

“Look, Sebastian, I know… I know that you don’t like me. Or maybe you just don’t like having me around,” I said, twiddling my fingers. “I just-”

I was interrupted by him mumbling something I couldn’t make out. I tried to let my brain interpret his words, but I simply couldn’t.

“I… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch th-”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“Okay, okay. I’m just leading in.” I took another break in my words, trying to find another angle of entry. “You know, that was nothing compared to what my mom would do. I know what it’s like having overbearing parents.”

He didn’t respond to that. He simply turned away to take another inhale of his cig.

“You try telling an Italian mother that you’re moving out before you’re even married. She doesn’t take it very well, let’s just say that. I get calls every day, asking me ‘when are you coming for a visit?’”

Still, nothing from him.

“I had always wanted to leave home. I was tired of her fussing over me. I just wanted to be alone. But then… well, I was lonely. I forgot how to function around people, and I had left all my friends and family in the suburbs, and of course they would just  _ love _ to have me crawl back to them. And as much as I love them, I just can’t do it. My destiny, the life I want for myself, I don’t know what it is, I just know it’s not there.”

Still, he remained silent. I hummed and brought my knees up to my chin as well and leaned forward onto my knees.

“Demetrius was going to follow you and give you a stern talking to, but I didn’t let him. I told him I would talk to you instead. He seemed really mad, and people shouldn’t talk to people they love when they’re mad, if they can avoid it.”

“I don’t know if I’d say he _ loves _ me.” I thought back to how Demetrius had become instantly protective over Maru when I first met them and something just sort of clicked in my head.

“Oh, I see. Maru is his daughter, she’s his everything. She’s going to go to medical school, and become a doctor and do all these great things, and you’ll just…” I trailed off, feeling like finishing the sentence would just create more tension. “Well, anyway. Reminds me of me and my sister. When I went to work for Joja as a simple office worker, I didn’t think that a few years later my own sister would finish university and work as part of their marketing sector - that  _ I _ ’d be taking orders from her team.”

This got his attention and he finally turned to look me in the eyes for the first time today. Maybe for the first time ever, I couldn’t recall. His dark little eyes following my own brown ones felt so peculiar, like he was seeing right through them and into the farthest, darkest corner of my mind.

“You had to work under your little sister?” Finally, I got something out of him.

“Yep. And every time I spoke to my parents on the phone, it was ‘Guess what Serena did this time Andie: she ran a triathalon and got a promotion and she lives in a penthouse and she has a boyfriend with money and blah blah blah! What are you up to, Andie?’ And the answer was nothing. I wasn’t making more money than the day before, I hadn’t met anyone, I wasn’t doing incredible things. I was going to work, and then on weekends I sang. That was it.” I started to feel the twang of regret after spilling my guts out to him like this. I hadn’t told anyone how I felt about my family, not ever. I wasn’t used to this, to someone knowing this much about me. I felt my cheeks go hot and realized my grip was tightened around the fabric of my dress. I slowly released it and flattened it out.

“Wow. Is that why you came here? Why you left the city?” he questioned with an intense, forgiving look in his eyes. I wondered if he was also remembering his little speech to Abigail and Sam from the night before about me leaving Zuzu City.

“Yeah. I guess it is. I didn’t think of it explicitly in that way, but yeah, I guess.”

“Huh,” he said, eyeing his cigarette before taking one last drag and pinching it out. I watched him as he stood up to his full height and brushed off his black hoodie and jeans. His eyes studied me for a moment before he held a hand out for me.

I hesitated only for a moment before I took it and allowed him to help me to my feet. His hands were soft and cold, brushing against my own warm, guitar-calloused fingers. The balance felt nice while it lasted, but once I was up on my feet he let go. I brushed off my dress, and then shyly held one arm with my other one. I waited for him to make the first move. I didn’t want to drag him anywhere he wasn’t ready to go.

“So, you stood up to Demetrius, huh?” he said with a small smile. He’d probably hate to hear it, but he looked cute when he smiled. It was a nice change from his usual brooding. “That’s pretty cool.”

“Heh. Yeah, well, I didn’t want you to get your ass beat. He looked pretty mad.”

“Well, I was pretty angry too. I’m sorry you had to see that, by the way.”

He was apologetic? This was a surprise to me. I didn’t expect any kind of thanks or apologies for his actions, I just didn’t want Robin to feel awful, or Sebastian to feel left out. Look at me, caring about people’s feelings. Maybe I’m a natural at this - at life in the Valley. Maybe I could be an empathetic, kind townsperson after all.

“It’s okay. Like I said, I get it. I used to have a bit of a temper too. But that’s another story for another time… if you’d care to hear it, that is.”

“We’ll see,” he said stoically, almost as though he didn't care if it happened or not. And he was back to his old, aloof self.

“Well, do you wanna go back to the Flower Dance?”

“It’s probably over by now.”

“Oh.”

“Here, I’ll walk you over to your place. It’s the least I could do.”

“Oh, heh.” I felt my cheeks go hot, yet again. That was happening a lot to me lately. I needed to get used to being treated nicely. “That’d be nice. Honey would love to have some company on the farm. I think she liked you.” He smiled a small smirk as we headed through the forest, back on the path heading back towards town.

It remained mostly quiet on the walk back home. We avoided the clearing where the dance took place, in order to avoid seeing anyone. I had a feeling Sebastian wasn’t in the mood to be seen right now, and honestly I was feeling much the same. Once we were back in Cindersap Forest, we meandered along the Western edge of the forest where Sebastian pointed out the wizard’s tower.

“Wow. Mysterious-looking,” I commented. He just nodded. “Does he ever leave it?”

“Sometimes he shows up to festivals. We don’t see him very often though. The rumour is that someone from the town used to walk up to his tower from time to time. This was a long time ago, of course. They say there’s a child in the town who is his.” He had started on another cigarette by now, and honestly I didn’t blame him. This had been a stressful day.

“Fascinating. Is that why Sam was saying-”

“Yes. Sam a hundred percent believes Abigail is the wizard’s daughter. We’d never tell Pierre though, of course, although I think he suspects something.”

“Wow. This place is filled with gossip,” I laughed.

“Little village syndrome,” Sebastian shrugged.

“Do you think Abby is the wizard’s daughter?”

“I dunno. I don’t really think it’s my place.”

“I suppose you’re right. I don’t like being a gossip, but I can’t help but wonder now. It would make sense. The hair, and the magic.”

“Yeah. She doesn’t like to talk about it much, so I just respect that.”

“That’s fair,” I said, as we continued on our walk.

 

Soon, we had reached the path up to the farm and I led Sebastian through all the weeds and boulders still making the land hard to navigate. We arrived on the other side covered in twigs and and dirt.

“Sorry about this, I’m working on cleaning it up, but it’s just a lot for one person.”

“It’s alright,” he said with a laugh as he started brushing off the debris on his clothes.

“Watch out for the garden.” I brought his attention to it before he could trample any of my crops and we curved around it to arrive at grandpa’s cabin - well, my cabin. I let Honey out to say ‘Hello’ and she was excited to have a guest over. Her tail wagged a mile a minute as she circled around Sebastian, sniffing him out. He crouched down to scratch her head and ears.

“It’s nice that you have a friend out here. It must get lonely sometimes.”

I thought about his words. It seemed the loneliness in my life was hard to escape, no matter what I did.

“It can, sometimes. Mostly, I’m too busy to think about that though. Besides, now that I’m in the band, that keeps me socialized,” I said. He let out a sigh, like he was preparing something he wanted to say.

“Look… I know you think that I don’t like having you around, but I do. I’m just… me. You’re a great singer and I like having you in the band.”

“Oh.” And there goes my cheeks, yet again. “Thanks, Seb.” That was the first time I didn’t use his full name. It felt nice in its familiarity. I felt like I had broken through a little bit with him; we had reached a new level of our relationship. “You’re a great keyboard player. I liked the riff you came up with for that last song I wrote. It really compliments it well.”

He smiled his smirky little smile.

“Thanks.”

He seemed to be taking his time, petting Honey and looking her deep in the eyes.

“If you don’t feel like going home yet, I understand. You can hang out here if you want. I’m probably just gonna make some food and then watch TV or listen to music or something, but you’re welcome to hang out.”

“I really don’t wanna go face mom or Demetrius, but I probably should go home. I have some programming work to do.”

“Alrighty. Then I wish you luck with that.”

“Thanks. I’ll need it,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “See you at the next band practice, Andie.”

“See you then, Seb.”

I watched him give Honey one last scratch before he shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket and headed off, disappearing along the Northern path to the mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My new semester has really kicked in so I might be posting less often, but it will be coming! So thank you for continuing to read!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologise profusely for not posting a new chapter until now. I have so much of this story that I wrote in Summer, but since the Fall semester has started I've been so busy. I'll try to keep on top of posting chapter a little bit better from now on, but it's hard to make any promises to be honest.
> 
> Thank you for continuing to read this story despite the large break in chapters!

Spring was coming to an end and I was preparing Summer seeds to be planted in place of the Spring crops - cauliflower would soon be replaced by hearty melons, green beans with blueberries, parsnips with tomatoes.

I woke up one morning early in Summer to realize my hair colour had faded quite a bit from its former glory. Once a bright periwinkle, now more of a pale mauve. It would have been a nice colour if it was even, but some parts had faded faster than others so there were patches of blonde visible. Now was definitely the time to do something about it.

I didn’t have a good space in my cabin to do the deed, however, which prompted me to call up Abigail; after all, she was the only one I could think of who had experience with hair dye.

As soon as I had explained my situation on the phone, she volunteered her place and invited me over that same day. I grabbed a pot of hair dye, and I also stashed a joint on me, just in case I felt like it later on. I always felt bad leaving Honey home alone, even though I spent most of my days with her. I needed time for myself too. She got a lot of attention and pets when I returned, after all.

 

I arrived at Abigail’s, waved to Pierre working in the shop, and hurried over to Abigail’s room. Seeing it in the daylight was interesting, considering it once appeared as a black void filled with candles the only other time I saw it. Now that the sun could illuminate it, however, I saw that it was inhabited by a guinea pig cage, as well as a small entertainment system with a console attached. She seemed to still have the same wallpaper she must have had as a kid; it was underwater themed, with seaweed sprouting from the ground, sunlight streaming in near the ceiling and some fish shadowed in the distance.

“Abigail?” I called in. She was sat in front of the entertainment system playing Journey of the Prairie King, the very same game that we played at the arcade.

“Oh, hey Andie! I just want to beat this level now that I’ve started playing,” she said with a strained sounding voice.

“No problem.” I sat myself down next to her to watch her attempt to complete the level she was currently on, but unfortunately, after a couple minutes of trudging through and just barely staying alive, her character was finally defeated when one of the enemies snuck up on her from behind.

“Damnit,” she mumbled. “Well, let’s get started on your hair.” She put the controller on the ground and shut off the system and the television.

“So, are you going to introduce me?” I asked her, standing over the guinea pig cage, trying to peek into the small hut. It seemed to be awake.

“Oh, of course! This is David.” She grabbed a treat from a nearby bag and the little piggie began sniffing and creeping out of its house. He let out little squeals of excitement as he took the treat into his mouth and began munching it. He was white with tan and black spots all over, and short haired.

“What a cutie!” I shrieked.

“Here, you can hold him while I dye your hair.”

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“It’s fine. We’ll put the dye on here in my room, and then you can go rinse it out in the bathtub later.” She gently picked David up from the cage and ordered me to sit. I did, and she placed him into my lap. Once little David realized it was warm and cozy in the middle of my criss-crossed legs, he nestled in and relaxed. He was so small and adorable.

“Are you sure you don’t need help mixing the dye?”

“No! It’s fine, I’ll just read the instructions.”

“Okay. I usually mix it with conditioner.”

“Sounds good!”

She left the room and returned with rubber gloves, a tint brush and a bowl full of the dye and conditioner mixture.

“I bought this back when I was still dying my hair,” she explained as she stirred the dye around in the plastic bowl. She took a seat behind me, sectioned off my hair and got to work painting the dye on. When it touched my scalp, it was cool and sent a shiver down my spine, but mostly Abigail seemed practiced enough to avoid doing that.

“So...how’d it go with Sebastian after the Flower Dance? I saw him a couple days ago and he seemed okay. I was feeling a bit nervous for our next band practice, I have no idea what kind of mood he’s in. What happened that day?”

“Well, I guess Robin wanted him to dance with me at the festival.”

“Yes, she did. He was supposed to ask you a few days before the dance actually, but I guess at the dance she got a little antsy about whether or not he’d asked you.”

Finally, the truth was told to me in person. That made me feel a little better, that this was no longer hidden. A small amount of anxiety was removed from my chest.

“So that’s what he was supposed to ask me at our little sceance?” I asked, playing dumb.

“You’re a bad actor,” she laughed.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, you must have listened. You knew that already, didn’t you?” I had been caught.

“Okay, yeah. You’re right, I eavesdropped. I’m sorry, I was just so curious-”

“It’s okay. I don’t think Sam or Seb know that you knew. Not that it matters now, it’s all over. Anyways, what happened?”

“Well, I followed him. He was hiding behind some bushes with a cig, and I talked to him. At first he didn’t really want to talk, but I think I found something that made him want to listen at least.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, he sure liked that I had gone against Demetrius.”

“Yeah, he would like that,” she said with a laugh.

“And I told him a bit about the city, and about my sister. Tell me if I’m wrong on this, Abby, but based on what Seb said and his reaction to what I said, I kinda gather that Demetrius dotes on Maru and Seb falls a bit to the wayside?”

“Yeah, that’s sounds about right. Demetrius sure loves punishing Seb, and telling him to man up and figure his life out.”

“I guess that’d be enough to make anyone want to leave for the city.”

“Yep. That’s Seb’s dream.”

“So why hasn’t he left already?”

“A contract programmer’s budget can’t be too great. At least, that’s what I’ve always kind of assumed. Maybe it’s all a ruse,” she suggested with a laugh. “Maybe he doesn’t really want to leave. He just says it to make himself feel better, to seem more put-together in front of Demetrius.”

“Right, like he wouldn’t leave the moment he could.”

“He’s had opportunities. Don’t tell him I know this, but sometimes at night I hear his motorcycle driving off to the highway, where the buses go by. I don’t know exactly where he goes, but I think he goes to the city, maybe.”

“Wait, back up, he has a motorcycle?” I said, in awe. He seemed a little dorky; I’d heard him and Sam talking about Solarian Chronicles, that tabletop game. I’d never have taken him as a motorcycle kind of guy.

“Yep! Maybe someday, he’ll show it to you. Try to act surprised when he does,” she laughed. “That thing is his pride and joy. He only shows it to people he trusts a lot. I think I’m the only other person who’s been on it.”

“Where did he take you on it?” I questioned, as a I started stroking David in my lap. I realized he had fallen asleep.

“Well, try not to be too surprised when I tell you this, but...oh, I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“What?” I laughed. “What is it?” She breathed a little sigh.

“Well, it’s just...you like him, don’t you?”

“Excuse me?” I spat. I honestly hadn’t expected anyone to pick up on these feelings. “What makes you say that?” I chuckled, trying to make it feel realistic.

“You really are a bad liar. Look, there’s nothing wrong with that. I just feel you should know that...him and I used to see each other a little bit. Never super serious, we were very on and off.”

“Oh...I see. Serious enough for him to let you on the bike, though?” I thought aloud.

“It’s been a few years since that all went down now, alright? I can pretty safely say that we are never getting back together again. We just didn’t work that way. I think it happened more out of convenience than actual attraction.”

This relieved me.  _ Why? We decided this already, we can’t be with him. We have our own shit to figure out _ , I told myself.

“You do like him, don’t you? Sam and I were pretty sure.”  
“I mean...I don’t know yet. He’s cute…in a dark kind of way. I guess.”

Abigail chuckled at this.

“Keep standing up to Demetrius like that and he’ll be fawning over you soon,” she joked.

“No, I don’t want- I shouldn’t…” I attempted to figure out how to put it to Abigail. “I have my own shit to sort through right now. And the band is important, and I’m still trying to figure out this farm thing and the mines. I shouldn’t be getting other peoples’ emotions caught up in my mess.”

“You seem pretty put together to me.”

“That’s awful kind of you. Things are far from perfect though. I’m still struggling to clean up the farm, the crops are in complete disarray due to my lack of planning, Gunther has asked me to help him fill out the museum and I’m just struggling to even find anything for him,” I ran down all that was on my plate and released a big sigh.

“Well, you’ve made some friends at least.”

I felt my cheeks pull a smile on my face.

“Yeah, I guess I have. I haven’t really felt lonely anymore, you know? At least not nearly as much. Not since I moved here.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

 

Once the dye was on and we had to let it set, I told Abigail more about my life in the city, basically reiterating some of what I had told Sebastian just a week earlier, leaving out the bit about my family. That felt just a bit too personal still, more of a need-to-know kinda deal.

Once our conversation had come to a conclusion, Abigail helped me rinse my hair out in the bathroom, head leaned back over the tub.

“Is it almost running clear? My neck’s starting to hurt,” I whined.

“Almost there.” There was a look of concern on her face, but the strain on my neck was what took over my brain right now.

“Ugh, please!”

“And… there!”

“Finally!” I sat up, ready to check it out in the mirror when Abigail held a hand to my shoulder. “What is it? Why did it take so long to wash it out anyways? Feels like I was sitting there for ten minutes.”

“Well,” she said, combing through my hair with her fingers. I caught a small glimpse of it in my peripheral vision. It looked… wrong.

“Why does it look so dark?”

“Well, keep in mind that it is still wet.”

“Yeah, but… hold on, let me have a look at this.”

“Wait, Andie!” But before Abigail could stop me, I glanced at the mirror and jumped in my skin. “Andie, it’s okay.”

“But… how?”

“I don’t know.”

I began combing through my damp head, examining the strange hue which was definitely not what was supposed to be in the bottle of dye.

“Green! How… ”

“I feel like this might have been my fault.”

It wasn’t a bad green, more forest-ey than lime, similar to Caroline’s but a bit darker, but it just… wasn’t periwinkle.

“How did you-”

“I think I accidentally did… something like what happened with my hair.”

Maybe getting someone with an interest in magic - who was still learning how to use it - to dye my hair wasn’t the best idea after all.

“Are you mad, Andie?”

“No! Not at all, Abby, it’s just,” I tried, turning to face her again. Her eyes narrowed with shame and she looked pale, more so than usual. “Unexpected.”

“I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, you didn’t mean to. I’m used to having my hair being all colours of the rainbow anyways. You could have had least made it match our band name,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood again as I toweled my hair with a dark coloured towel Abigail had handed me. She gasped.

“A band called Fire Quartz with a singer who has red hair; it would have been so perfect!” she laughed. She seemed to feel better, now that I’d let her know it wasn’t a big deal. “Did Sam tell you we’re playing at the Luau in a few days? Our first gig! It’s the first time they’ve ever had a live band play the Luau, but I think it’ll be fun! There’s nothing else to do at the Luau aside from eat anyways.”

“Yeah, he told me about it. The governor comes, for some reason, and we make a big soup or something.”

“That’s pretty much the extent of what you need to know.”

“I’m excited for the gig though! I think we’ve been progressing really well.”  
“Same! We were so lost before you came along.”

“I’m sure you guys would have figured it out.”

“I dunno, Andie. These boys can be pretty stubborn, which means that sometimes stuff just doesn’t get done.”

“Bitches do get shit done,” I joked, as I finished toweling off my hair. It was now just dry enough to not drip all over the place. “Well, I should probably head out. See you at rehearsal tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I have some coursework to do too, but I’ll probably just end up playing Journey of the Prairie King again,” she laughed.

“Well, good luck with that. See ya, Abby!”

“Bye, Andie!”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! New chapter!

Abigail had been begging me to take her into the mines to fight monsters, but I wouldn’t let her. I felt bad saying no, but I just didn’t know what I’d do if something happened to her. Pierre and Caroline would kill me. So anytime I told her I was heading down, she asked if I could bring her more crystals.

Admittedly, I had developed a love of these colourful rocks. I had a small stash at home that I had planned on using to decorate: some malachite, fire opal, fairy stones, obsidian, and ghost crystals. So far, I had figured out that Abigail preferred amethyst, and Sebastian seemed to like the frozen tear I gave him at the spirit board session. Sam loved tiger’s eye, but was just as happy with pizza or a Joja cola.

 

In the days leading up to the Luau, the mines had indeed taken my attention, which was just as well considering I had been struggling to keep plants alive in the blistering heat and needed a new form of income for the time being. The plus side to this was I could finally afford a coop. The downside was I frequently lost track of time down there. I almost missed a band practice because of it.

On the morning of the Luau, however, I headed out early in the morning. I wouldn’t tolerate being late for this event, so I kept my phone on me, and my watch, just in case one failed me. The mines had gotten colder the further down I went until they were eventually filled with ice and I could see my warm breath in the cool air. Pickaxing the rocks was enough to keep me warm though.

Down on this level, blue slimes were abundant as well as colonies of dust sprites - all fairly easy to defeat with a decent sword. I had gotten pretty good at watching my back, however on this particular day a blue slime surprised me while I was busy mining a piece of iron.

It hopped onto my back, biting me, and before I could figure out what was going on, I found myself yelling and bucking wildly to knock it off me. Still, it held on by its teeth. I had no choice but to grab it with my hands and toss it a few feet away from me. It bounced and rolled along the ground before hitting the wall and re-orienting itself to face me again. It squeaked and tried to come at me, but I was fast enough and swiped my sword at it, stopping it mid way. The second swipe caused it to melt and split into many smaller pieces of slime which, thankfully, were incapacitated.

“Phew.” I wiped the sweat off my brow and held my head in my hands for a moment. “I gotta be more careful, especially on gig days. I should get out of here.”

It was nearing 9 AM. I figured if I could meet up with Sebastian as his place, since it was close to the mines anyway, I could show up at the same time as him and then I wouldn’t be late.

As I exited the mountain and headed over to the lone house along the path, I dusted dirt off my clothes and realized that I’d left a joint in the pocket from when Abigail dyed my hair. I sighed in annoyance and stashed it back away before knocking on the door. Maru was the one to open it. She was wearing a pink shirt and her favourite pair of blue mechanic’s overalls.

“Oh, hey Andie! We were just gonna leave for the Luau soon; we’re just getting ready. Did you wanna see Sebastian?”

“Yeah, if that’s alright. I figured I could head down with you guys since I was in the mines this morning anyway.”

“I’m sure that’s fine! Mom will probably love that. Here, come in. Seb’s down in his room. I’ll go tell mom you’re here.”

“Thanks so much, Maru!”

I entered the foyer of the house and found the staircase I had only walked down once before, and I knocked on the door.

“I’m coming, mom! I know, I know, we’re leaving soon!”

“It’s not Robin, it’s me: Andie.”

“Andie?”

“Yeah, is it okay if I come in?” I began opening the door before I even finished asking, which was impatient of me, but I didn’t think.

I saw Sebastian, shirtless, mid buttoning up a pair of black jeans.

“I’m changing!” he whined, a slight crack in his voice.

“Ah, I’m sorry!” I closed the door slightly, so that I couldn’t see around it. “I didn’t think.”

“Uh, it’s okay. Just getting a shirt anyways. Come in, and close the door.” He sounded tired. I’d never seen him up this early, I realized. Robin must have kicked the door down, this morning. Or, more likely, Demetrius did.

I peeked around the door and saw Sebastian leaning over a drawer on the other side of his room, digging for a shirt to wear. I entered the stone brick room, with wooden panels adorning the bottom half of the walls, and gently shut the door behind me.

His lean, white body was bent delicately over the drawer, held up by his thin white arms propped on his legs. His long fringe was almost entirely covering his face from where I stood. All I could see was a single elf-like ear with a black earring on its lobe. I meandered over, wary of the room I was taking up in his most personal, private space. There were a few posters up along the wall where his computers sat, as well as a black couch. Stacked above his dresser was a couple shelves of books, mostly novels with some graphic novels thrown in. In the middle of his room, a large table with some sort of role playing game set up in the centre.

“Oh yeah, I heard you and Sam talking about Solarian Chronicles: The Game.”

“Oh… yeah, heh. Sam, Abby and I play it sometimes. It’s been a while since we’ve touched that game though. Maybe it’s time to give up on it soon.”

“I don’t know much about it. What kind of character do you have?”

“I usually play a wizard,” he admitted timidly.

“Cool.”

He pulled a black t-shirt out of the back of his drawer. It had a rather obscure band’s logo emblazoned across the front. This finally gave him an opportunity to look over at me, which gave him a slight jump. At first, I couldn’t figure out why he froze, until I realized he was staring at my head.

“Yoba, Andie. Your hair, it’s green!”

“Oh, yeah. Abigail accidentally magicked it the wrong colour when she was supposed to be dying it,” I moaned in annoyance.

“Hey, it-I mean, it looks good. I just didn’t expect it.”

“Nice save. I know, it’s...different. At least it’s not a bright, lime green. I don’t think I could live with that.”

“It looks like her mom’s hair colour.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t help but notice. I wonder if it’s because I wouldn’t let her explore the mines with me. I guess the hair dye happened before that though.”

I looked back over at the books and touched the spines mindlessly, trying to forget the hair situation for a bit - and trying to pull my mind away from admiring Sebastian’s torso, watching his spine curl as he bent his head into the shirt hole, his skin gliding along it protectively, and straightened as he began to pull the shirt down over his body.

“I’ve been meaning to read these,” I said, tapping the spine of one of the books.

“You can borrow it, if you like.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I finished them all, multiple times. I won’t miss them for a season or two.”

“Maybe I’ll check it out then,” I pulled one of them out gently and flipped to the first page to examine it.

“It’s really well-written, and the story is great. Not what you’d probably expect.”

“I’m excited to read it, then.”

I opened my bag and dropped it into one of the pockets, so that it wouldn’t get dirty from the tools.

“Well, we should head upstairs. We’ll be leaving soon,” he said, heading towards the door.

“Let’s do this thing. Are you nervous?” I asked him as I approached the door.

“I dunno. Maybe a little. Maybe once we get there it’ll feel more real.”

We both reached for the door at the same time and his frigid hand, with its thin fingers, brushed against the back of my own tanned knuckles. Almost simultaneously, I cried,  
“You’re so cold!”

And he commented,  
“You’re burning up.”

We paused for a moment to process what had happened, then laughed it off.

“Must be colder than I realized in my room,” he said, closing the door once we were both on the other side and heading up the stairs.

 

We began walking down towards the beach, Robin and Demetrius leading the way, Maru, close behind them, and Sebastian and I heading up the rear. Demetrius didn’t seem happy that I had showed up in his house, but he stepped back his attitude. The very feelings I had first thought came from Sebastian - this distance and perhaps even hatred of me - now I realized described Demetrius much better. Something odd definitely stood between Sebastian and Demetrius - a disconnect, a lack of understanding, an annoyance - which seemed to leak over to me now that I had befriended him.

Sebastian had his hands shoved into his pockets and his head down as he walked beside me. I had my own hands holding the straps of my pack, which had gained some weight between the tools, gems and now the book. I watched as Robin and Demetrius, perhaps 10 to 15 feet ahead of us, whispered to each other, turning back to look at us occasionally.

“They’re talking about us,” I whispered to Sebastian.

“Figures.”

“Demetrius hates me, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, probably. It’s a good thing, trust me.”

“It doesn’t feel good. What did I do wrong? Is it my piercing, or my tattoos? Actually, I mean, I guess I did defy him in order to defend you,” I joked sarcastically. 

“‘Cause clearly, that couldn’t have played a part in it,” he chuckled.

“If anything, he should have found my interest in your wellbeing endearing.”

“That doesn’t sound like him.”

We approached the beach, crossing the bridge from town. It seemed like that was the end of our conversation for now.

The entire town was gathered, once again, over a few tables of food, a small spit roast worked by Linus, and at the center of it all was a giant pot of soup being stirred by Marnie. Robin and Demetrius dragged us over to Mayor Lewis, who was showing the Governor around, to say hello and meet the Governor. Once those niceties were over, we found Abigail and Sam setting up our gear together.

“There you lazy assholes are! Come here and help us!” Abigail called.

“Excuse you, I spent all morning in the mines!” I explained as we headed over.

“Yoba, Andie! Green hair? That’s quite a look,” Sam, said, admiring it and circling around me to check it out.

“I know, it’s crazy. Now let’s do this thing!”

 

We were set up on a small wooden stage, hobbled together by Robin in the days before the Luau, in front of a large dance floor, bordered by tiki torches and a covering of palm branches for the ground, which had music coming through its speakers while we were setting up. Emily and the children, Vincent and Jas, were dancing and playing around on the dance floor. Soon, as a slow ballad came on the speakers, Robin and Demetrius started to dance as well. Abigail brought over a plate of appetizers for us to share as we finished plugging in all our cords and wires and began to soundcheck.

The sun was blazing down, heating the sand on the beach up to uncomfortably burning temperatures. I had removed my heavy, mining boots and refused to step off the stage and risk ending up with burns to the soles of my feet. Some of the girls were wearing sandals; I hoped they’d be alright.

I stepped up to the microphone - kindly lent to us by Mayor Lewis, who kept it stowed away for events - and hummed a few bars, warming up my voice in preparation for the show. The microphone was working fine, and so I stepped back near the drumkit and paced back and forth on my weak knees while singing scales to finish warming up.

“Why the pacing? Nervous?”

“Only a little. Helps me think. Not as nervous as this one,” I commented, pointing at Sebastian, hiding behind the other side of the stage, away from the crowd, and smoking a cigarette, also pacing around a fair bit, a shake in his hands. “Poor guy. How about you? Nervous?”

“Not really. I don’t know why, but not really,” she explained. I hummed in agreement and continued my scales. “Hey, where’s Sam?”

I stopped my warm-up to look around, off the side of the stage.

“He’s here with Seb,” I laughed, upon finding him lying on his back in the sand a few feet away from where Sebastian was doing his paces. “You okay, Sam?”

“Yeah,” he groaned weakly in return.

“Don’t get burnt in the sand, sweetie. We’re going on in a couple minutes, do you think you’ll be okay?” I asked in a soothing sing-song voice, as if speaking to a child.

“Yeah.” His tone was the same as before.

“These boys need to get on our level,” I joked to Abigail, who giggled in return.

 

A few minutes later we had gathered the boys onto the stage. Sebastian seemed to have calmed his nerves a little bit, but he became completely mute in the moments before the show, which I had a feeling was related. Sam pulled himself together enough to announce the beginning of our set.

“Hello, Pelican Town! Y’all ready to hear some motherfuckin’ music!”

I could have sworn I heard Jodi call up from the crowd gathering around the stage:

“Language!”

I definitely saw Mayor Lewis with sweat beads falling down his face as he stood beside the Governor, holding a big stupid grin on his face.

“The Governor’s never coming back after this,” I heard Abigail comment from behind me. I moved to the front of the stage, still barefoot, wearing black jean shorts and a tank top, with a flowy, witchy lace cardigan I had found at a thrift shop back in the city, which I had brought in my bag just for the show. I picked up the microphone and twirled the cord around the stand to free it so that I could move around the stage.

“We are Fire Quartz!” I called out to the crowd to some civil applause.

“One, two, three, four” Abigail called out as we started our first song.

It was one that Sam had written the music for, which I had added lyrics to. It was probably our favourite one that we had written, so it only felt right to start the show with it.

 

We played through our set, and the townspeople seemed to enjoy it more and more with every song. We had some punkier, more garage-ey kinda rock songs as well as a couple softer, indie rock ballads to balance it out, and they all earned some applause from our crowd. Even the Governor was applauding and cheering from time to time, which calmed Mayor Lewis down a bit, finally. Elliot and Leah applauded politely from the other side of the beach, each with a glass of wine in their hand. Haley and Alex were also paired together as usual, off to the side and not really paying attention. Emily danced like no one was watching in the middle of the crowd, and everyone else seemed amused by her dancing. The children joined her in skipping around, and soon some of the other adults started joining in the dancing and cheering.

It was absolutely the best show I had ever played in my life.

 

When it was over and we had our final applause, the four of us stood to the front of the stage to give a bow. They then stood back and held their arms out at me, still applauding. I waved my arms ‘No,’ at them, not wanting the moment, but Sam insisted.

“We’d like to thank Andie for being our singer, and our main songwriter,” Sam leaned into the microphone to explain. I felt the bodily heat flood through my head to the tips of my ears as I gave in and took a bow, holding my arms out causing the sleeves of the cardigan to hang majestically to the sides, like a pair of wings.

“And Sam for composing many of these songs,” I added in, forcing him to take the attention off me. Now we applauded for him.

Once the rounds of applause were over, we stepped off to the side of the stage, adrenaline flowing through our bodies as we jumped and cheered into a group hug, only Sebastian still seemed a bit shook by the performance. He stood off and took out another cigarette while Sam, Abigail and I jumped up and down.

“Come here!” Abigail called as she grabbed Sebastian by the arm while he was in the middle of trying to light the cig, yanking him into the group hug despite the discomfort in his face.

Once we had sufficiently crushed our bodies together, we came apart. Sebastian somehow managed to not let the cigarette fall from his mouth and, with an annoyed look on his face, finished lighting it now.

“I think they liked us! And not just because half of them were our parents,” Abigail quipped.

 

As the Luau came to an end and everyone filtered their way home, the four of us were left to clean up the equipment on our own. We began walking everything back to Sam’s house. I had lit up the joint that had been left in my pocket and passed it around between Sebastian, Abigail, and I - Sam wasn’t interested. The smoke dissipated into the deep, navy night as we chattered back and forth about how well the gig went.


	13. Chapter 13

Now that I had finally found some iron, I was ready to upgrade my tools once again. With my newly upgraded axe, I was finally able to take down this hardwood log that had been blocking off a section of the forest. I had been dying to check out what was behind it. No one had seen it in years.

I had also gotten Robin to upgrade my house and, finally, I was getting a kitchen. I waved at her as I left to the forest to see about that log.

“See ya, Robin! I’ll be back later.”

“Oh, hey! Are you going to be seeing Sebby today?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m going to the forest for now. Need some wood and stuff. Just keep an eye on Honey? She’s inside and she should be fine, but just look out for her.”

“Sure thing, see you later!”

 

As I knocked down the last bits of the log, piling hardwood into my backpack, I wandered through into this new, lofty, dark part of the woods. The trees that guarded the entrance had trunks thick as five people in a huddle.

“Oh… wow.” My jaw dropped.

The forest was lit in the most dramatic way, extreme light and dark, with pink petals falling all around in a beautiful raining dance. I stepped into one of the lit up openings in the path and continued on, following the path lit by gentle sunbeams filtering through the branches.

As I neared the end of the forest path, I found a large clearing with a pond, and a mysterious statue guarded by several pillars. I examined the old ruined pillars, which seemed to be made of some type of stone. Cracks ran down them, worn mostly by time, where moss had begun to grow and fill in the gaps. Vines hugged the pillars, weakly holding on to their strong, sturdier counterparts.

I continued to admire my surroundings as I took a seat beside the small lake. Before I could really think, I found myself singing - singing to the forest. An old folk song I had heard, many years ago. I think grandpa was the one who taught it to me. I certainly remember him singing it as he bounced 3 year old, toddler-me on his knee. It was a song about the forest and the rivers, and animals and the fish. I didn’t think much about singing it, it just kind of happened, but it seemed so right.

 

I had stayed for about an hour, singing and examining the markings on the statue once more before heading back home. Robin was still working on the house, but she had gotten a little further along. She was inside now - I had left her my key, and hidden anything too incriminating from the side of the house where the kitchen, where Robin would be working - and I waved hello to her as I entered and removed my pack.

“Hey, how’d it go?” she asked in a friendly voice.

“It went… really well.” I sighed as I took a seat onto my bed. My house was still technically only one room, so even sitting on the bed I was only a few feet away from Robin. I didn’t know how best to describe the feeling inside my chest after finding the secret forest.

“Robin… Did you know the forest sings?”

Robin stopped her work and turned to face me, leaning her hammer back against her shoulder, and tilted her head. She seemed to examine me for a moment before chuckling.

“Is that poetry? No wonder you write the lyrics in Fire Quartz.”

I was content enough with that response. That was enough to make me feel heard. I was feeling poetic after all. I took out my notebook where I had been keeping all my lyrics and wrote down a couple lines based on my experience in the forest.

They lyrics turned out okay; I’d fix them up later, I told myself, placing the notebook back on my night table.

“Are you doing anything else today, Andie?” Robin asked over her shoulder, in between hammerings.

“I’m not sure yet,” I had a look over at Honey, who was napping at the foot of the bed. “Honestly, I might take a small nap. Is that okay?”

“It’d be better,” she laughed. “You couldn’t bother me if you’re asleep. Don’t know how you’ll sleep while I’m hammering.”

“I could sleep through a hurricane,” I laughed in return as I yanked my boots off and kicked my feet up onto my bed and leaned back onto my pile of two fluffy pillows. Robin giggled and returned to her work

“I’ll try to hammer quietly anyway. Have your nap,” she said, waving her hand dismissively in my direction.

I felt a smile pull across my cheeks as I shifted into the pillows until my shoulders and neck were comfortably supported. Honey, awake but drowsy, shifted around so that she could lean on my torso. I knew she’d only moved so that my hands could reach her, so I obliged and began petting her and running my hands through her fur.

Something about discovering new things always made me crave that extra little nap during the day, and Honey’s weight over my stomach made the sleepiness find me that little bit faster.

 

I awoke on the other side, in my dream. Everything around me was blurry, like tendrils of light disobeying the laws of physics, unable to decide where they were meant to exist. As my surroundings came into focus, I realized I was back in the secret woods; only, instead of being surrounded by darkness, everything away from my reach was covered in blinding light. It was then I noticed I wasn’t alone.

Beside me, Sebastian sat, making circles in the dirt with his finger as pink flower petals danced through the wind around us. We both had our jeans rolled up and our feet in the clear waters of the pond. My hand was close by his. I stared down at our fingers, his continuing to play with the dirt until he set it down on my hand.

“You’re burning up,” he commented.

“And you’re… so cold.”

And he was. His hand almost seemed to be releasing cool air against mine. He took my hand and held it up, placing his other hand on top. His eyes looked up at me from his bowed head, under his heavy lids, dark and scrutinizing. I felt the haziness in my own eyes as I watched him curiously. He placed his soft lips down onto the back of my hand, and it shaped perfectly around my protruding veins and knuckles.

I thought it would stop there, after all we had only met just a season and a half ago, but soon he was leaving kisses down my hands, finding my fingertips with his mouth.

“Sebastian…” I said softly.

As he took my index finger in his mouth, he continued to watch my face, waiting for a reaction. My imagination was left to work its magic of wondering what was next. What more could be coming?

He pulled out sensually, letting his bottom lip linger, before moving to the next finger, earning a soft exhale from me. I closed my eyes, only for a moment, as I enjoyed the sensation of his tongue working its way along the shaft of my middle finger. I hissed in air through my upper teeth and my lower lip, which made me realize I was biting down on my lip. A smirk pulled on his face as he slowly released me once more. I couldn’t deny the throb running from my lap up through the rest of my body.

“Proud of yourself?” I asked between heavy breaths.

“Not yet.”

“Come on, then,” I found myself saying, much more confidently than real life me could ever muster.

He smirked once again, more than ready to do as asked. In one swift motion, he threw his arms around me, pinning me to the ground. I didn’t mind the dirt getting tangled in my evergreen-coloured hair. It wasn’t something I could be bothered to even consider right now. One of his arms on either side of my head, he began kissing along my jawline before moving down my neck, planting kisses all along the way; I began giggling uncontrollably from the tickle until I was waving my arms against him instead of holding him.

He leaned back up, away from me.

“Stay still for a minute.”

“I can’t, it tickles,” I explained, still a bubbliness in my voice.

“Mhm.”

His hand cradled my neck for a moment before meandering over to my arm, gliding along my skin. When he reached my wrist, he grabbed it firmly in his hand and held it against the ground.

“Then I’ll just have to make you.”

I slyly cocked an eyebrow up at him and smirked in response. As he moved his other arm to block my second hand, I began to feel the fullness of his body leaning onto mine. His soft hoodie brushing against my stomach, slightly exposed underneath the bottom edge of my shirt, and the stiffness of him brushing against my groin. The tingle of excitement ran through my body, from where he had gone back to work placing kisses along my neck, to the tips of my toes. I hooked my leg around his, hoping desperately it would bring him closer - bring me closer to what I needed from him in that moment.

He brought his kisses down my neck before lifting up my shirt a little to leave more little kisses along my stomach, moving his frigid hands down along with him, tracing the sides of my waist and hips. I felt more giggles coming, and just as he had let go of my wrists too. He stopped the kisses to bring my arms back to their spot above my head.

“Don’t move,” he whispered.

I held my hands as firmly in place as possible as he continued leaving kisses all over my stomach, slowly moving down over my pelvis. When he arrived at the top of my jeans he looked back up at me, just as intensely as I was staring down at him.

“Do you want this?” he asked between bated breaths.

“Yes. More than anything,” I exhaled, trying to keep up with my racing heart.

“Beg for it.”

“Please.”

“More.”

“Fuck, Sebastian, please. Please, I need you… right now. I need  _ this _ .”

He came back up to meet my lips in a passionate embrace. I allowed myself to move my arms, at last, in order to throw them around his waist and hold him nearer. He brought his hands up to my cheeks, holding my face in close. He was kissing me so viciously, suckling at my lower lip and sometimes straight up missing and kissing the side of my mouth, and yet it was so perfect and beautiful. Too beautiful to last.

I felt the dream beginning to fade out. What was pulling me out? A tail wagging beside me, hitting me everytime it swung my way.

“Huh? Wha-Sebastian?”

My eyes opened upon the sight of Honey, bouncing around the bed trying to wake me up and get my attention.

“What- Oh, Honey. I’m so sorry, you must need to go out.”

I sat up in bed immediately and rubbed my eyes, visions of the dream still floating in my mind. I remembered Robin was still there and looked over to see her, working but also looking back to check on me now that I was awake.

“I’m glad you’re awake. I was starting to think maybe I should leave and come back later.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused as I looked around the room.

“Sounded like you were having, uh...quite some dream.”

“Oh, shit!” I cried, letting my head fall into my hands. I let out a loud groan. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that. I did not think that would have happened. Oh my god, was I talking?”

“Just a little bit,” she said with a laugh.

“Nothing too incriminating, I hope,” I whined, annoyed that this was happening to me right now, with Sebastian’s mother of all people. Fucking Yoba, I just had a sex dream about a guy when his mother was in the room with me. I let out another groan.

“Oh, no. Nothing like that,” she said in a tone that didn’t quite let me believe her. I so badly wanted to believe she hadn’t heard a thing though, at least no names, that I decided to believe her anyways. I got up and opened the door for Honey to go outside and then climbed right back into bed with, what I’m sure, was the most horrified expression on my face as my cheeks went scorching hot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was a good little teaser ;)
> 
> I'm trying to get back into writing now that it's Winter break so I'm hoping to finish writing it before next semester so I can just post all the chapters. Thank you to anyone who's still reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Now that I had my kitchen and coop set up, and a couple new chickens laying eggs, things were picking up again at the farm. Even though I was still struggling to keep the plants alive in the summer heat, at least I could keep the chickens, which I had lovingly named O.J. and Sodapop, happy. Using the eggs and vinegar from Pierre’s shop, I had taught myself how to make mayonnaise so that I would have a new way to make money for now, since I was starting to dry up after those rather large expenses.

 

At band practice, Abigail told me about the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies which was coming up soon, closing out Summer and welcoming in Autumn. That whole practice, i refused to look Sebastian in the eye, which I think he found confusing especially since we had just started getting along, but it was better this way. My feelings were getting far too powerful; I had never felt anything like this around another person before. Even just being around him made me shudder, remembering how gently he had been holding me, how passionate he had been placing his hands all over my body… 

But it wasn’t real.

Why did I keep forgetting that it wasn’t real? It just felt so corporal. It was so vivid, I still remember his voice, and every little touch, and kiss. I could only tag it to the fact that I was inexperienced and that was the closest thing I’d had to the real thing, the closest I’d had to someone I could trust… and  _ touch _ .

As I was singing one of my songs, I stared at the ground, lost in thought and swaying only softly along to the words. I looked over at Abigail behind her drums, who seemed to realized I was a bit out of it, but was giving it her all anyways. Then I looked over at Sam, who seemed thrown off of his tempo by my mood. I tried to concentrate again to bring everyone back on track, but I couldn’t tell if it was working or not.

Once the song was over, Sam addressed all of us.

“Okay, so today’s practice wasn’t great, but that’s okay, everyone has off days. We better get ourselves back in gear though because…” A contagious grin pulled on his face, one that could no longer be hidden. “I got us a gig. One that’s outside of Pelican Town!”

“No way, Sam! That’s awesome!” Abigail said, standing up from her seat behind the kit.

“Nice going, Samson,” I complimented.

Sebastian said nothing, and I didn’t dare look over to check on him.

“So, the day after the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, we’re going to be taking the bus into Zuzu City. We’re playing at this little club. I got the owner’s contact info online and sent him some of our music and he liked it!”

“Ugh, packing all this stuff onto the bus and then off again sounds like death,” I said.

“You didn’t even help us do it for the Luau!” Abigail complained.

“I was in the mines! Besides, I helped bring it all back. I’ll help do both this time around.”

“I dunno guys, I have a lot of contracts I’m working on right now. I don’t know if I have time to spend a whole day in the city,” finally, it was Sebastian who spoke. I fell silent.

“Well, you’ll just have to organize your time around the gig because we are not cancelling this thing!” Sam explained.

“You guys never take my job seriously. The band will always be second priority, okay? I’m sorry, but just because it’s freelance doesn’t mean I can just shove it all to the side, like it doesn’t matter.” Sebastian threw his arms into the air, before crossing them in front of him. His features looked dark, and tired.

“I’m sorry, Seb, I didn’t mean-”

“No one ever bothers Maru when she’s working at the clinic. What is it? Do you guys think I’m surfing the web all day, is that it?”

“No, Sebastian, that isn’t what I-”

But before Sam could finish his sentence, Sebastian burst out of the room, wrestling in his pockets for his pack of cigarettes on his way out. I turned to watch him leave, feeling braver now that I couldn’t see his face. I felt somehow that this was my fault, even though I couldn’t see how.

“He’s sure in a mood today. I wonder what’s up?” Abigail asked aloud.

“Probably just a little stressed. Things must be piling up for him right now.”

I released a loud sigh, wondering for myself as well what could be going on with him. It seemed like every time I was back on track, not letting myself get too close, something had to happen that tempted me to pull myself back in. Why was lady destiny playing this coy little game with me?

“Any ideas, Andie? You seem… distant, today.”

“Oh, I guess I’m just… a little out of it. You know, the rain and everything. The plants have been dying all season at the farm, things just aren’t going great right now.”  _ Nice save _ , I complimented myself.

“Not to be presumptuous, but you seemed to be able to bring Seb out of his mood before at the Flower Dance. Care to try again?” Abigail asked.

“I don’t really think I’m up to it right now. I wish I could, but I’m just not in the right… headspace, or zone or whatever.”

“Okay, that’s okay. I understand. What is up with everybody today though?” she laughed.

“I should get going. I think we’ll do really well at the gig, by the way Sam. I’m excited, and I’m sure Seb will get enough work done that he’ll be able to join us, no problem.” Even just saying his name tickled my brain.

“Yeah, I’m sure he will. He’d never miss something like this. I’ve known him for too long; he wouldn’t miss this.”

I grabbed my notebook and dropped it into my backpack as I left Sam’s house into the pouring rain. Physically, I was cold and wanted to run all the way home and avoid as much wetness as possible. Mentally, however, the rain felt like it was cooling off the entirety of my being, even my nebulous thoughts. I decided to take a walk through the frigid downpour and deal with the consequence later.

Without even meaning to, I headed to the beach, right out onto the edge of the dock, and simply stood there letting the rain soak me to the bone. I stared out into the grey fog and clouds, which looked like they could consume me and the rest of Pelican Town if they approached. The seas were angry, roaring, crashing hard against the pillars below the dock. It felt refreshing, how angry the world around me was and yet, inside… utter stillness.

I had half a mind to let the waters baptize me, at this point. Maybe they’d take me somewhere I belonged.

 

My hair was sticking to my neck and the sides of my face, and my clothes were dripping and drenched when suddenly the rain stopped touching me and I was no longer alone. I felt his presence near my right hand side. Looking above me, I could see a red umbrella blocking the rain from hitting my body.

I expected him to say something, but he didn’t. He just stood there for a while. I didn’t know what to think until, after waiting impatiently for whatever he might have to say, he did speak.

“What are you doing out here?”

And I didn’t even know how to answer, quite honestly.

“Enjoying the weather,” I retorted. He chuckled a bit at that.

“Sam and Abigail had no idea where you went. They’ve been calling your phone, asking around town if anyone had seen you. They were getting worried.”

“How long have I been here?”

“I don’t know. I left Sam’s about an hour ago. You must have left shortly after. They got worried when you didn’t answer their texts; usually you’re right on that.”

“And they sent you to find me?” I asked, seeing Sebastian light up beside me in my peripheral vision. I prided myself upon realizing I had still managed not to look at him.

“Abigail wanted to go, but she had no idea where to look. They suggested I’d have better luck.”

“Well then, you’re a lucky guy.”

“I guess so.” He said it so stoically, I didn’t know what to say next. Luckily, I didn’t have to say anything. He held his cigarette to me, offering me the filter. I debated for a moment before taking it and inhaling deeply on the sweet tobacco of the valley. “You’ll catch a cold if you stay here. You don’t need to tell me why you came here, but at least come over for dinner to warm up and, I suppose, not be alone. Mom would fucking love it if you did.”

I exhaled just as thoroughly and tried to decide what was next.

“I don’t know if I can deal with Demetrius right now.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be on his best behaviour. I’ll make sure of it. And mom would too, trust me.”

“I don’t want to impose. I have my own kitchen now, I should start cooking for myself. I can’t-”

“Oh, shut up. You know my mom loves having you over. Come on, she’s making spaghetti. It’s almost as good as Gus’s.”

I let my guard down and looked up to him, directly into those intense, dark eyes. I had made a mistake.

“You’re offering spaghetti to an Italian girl who had a nonna, who of course made the best spaghetti,” I joked before taking another slow drag of the cig. “But that does sound good.”

“Let’s get you out of the cold.”

I followed his lead, under the umbrella, as he turned around and we started heading back to the beach.

“It’s funny, but I don’t really feel too cold.”

“Let me feel,” he said, offering out his hand. I looked at his hand, and then up to his face. It looked uncharacteristically kind and soft. I gently brought my hand over his and laid it in his palm.

“Wow. Are you always this warm?”

“You’re the one who’s always freezing cold,” I laughed.

“What do you mean always? That happened once,” he commented back.

I realized that the dream made it feel like it had happened multiple times. No wonder he was confused.

He was about to let go of my hand but I held on. This took him by surprise.

“I’m sorry, is it okay if I hold your hand. Some human touch would be nice after being fucking catatonic for possibly an hour, heh,” I tried to play it off, but it felt awkward. He didn’t pull away though.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I get it.” And he tightened his grip, just a little bit, in a gentle squeeze. “So, what brought you out here? Worried about something?”

“Oddly enough, it’s a long story.”

“Well, we have some time before we get home. And besides, I mean, if you need someone to, like, listen or anything…” he said, getting a little flustered.

“Thanks,” I giggled. “You don’t have to-”

“I don’t mind. I mean, we’re… friends or something, right? I wanna get to know you a bit better.”

_ Or something? _

“I’d like that,” I said, wondering where to even begin. “Well, I told you about me and my sister.”

“Yeah, relatable.”

“Sometimes I get really… depressed about that stuff. And I know I shouldn’t! I’m living my own life. Especially now that I’m living a completely different life, but… I dunno. I guess I feel like I…”

“Failed?” he interjected. I had a feeling he knew from experience how I felt.

“Well, yeah. And I thought I could do this farming thing, and maybe I could even be really good at it, but now all my plants are dying and it’s just not going how I hoped it would.” My voice broke a bit as I explained the current situation. My lip trembled, but I didn’t want to cry. Not now, not in front of him.

I pulled myself together and looked up to him as he nodded along with my words.

“Yeah. I get that. That can’t be easy,” he said, pursing his lips as he seemed to be in thought. “I get anxiety sometimes, and insomnia, over the same kinda things.”

“I know you said you want to go to the city and become a programmer over there. That must be a scary thought though, the thought that you’ll leave the valley and your family.”

“But I’d make friends.”

“Yeah, you would. People out there aren’t all like people in the valley though. They’re more selfish. Not all friends are what they seem.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll meet friends like that.”

“Maybe not.”

“So, what exactly made you want to leave the city? You once said you were lonely out there.”

“The city is… loud, crowded, polluted. You pay insane amounts of money for an apartment the size of… well, smaller than your room. And for what? I made more money, but why did I need it? I couldn’t meet anyone, it’s not like I was gonna start a family in an apartment the size of a bedroom. It’s not like I could own any pets. Owning all that money, which still wasn’t a lot compared to some of my Joja coworkers, but it-it just weighed me down. I didn’t know if coming out here would be the right answer, but I knew I didn’t want to stay there any longer.”

I turned back to him again; his gaze upon me was one of understanding. He nodded his head as we strode up the steps to where the broken down community centre sat. His grip on my hand had tightened a bit, but wasn’t crushing.

“I don’t know what the right answer is either. But I guess it’s good to have a dream.”

“So, Zuzu City is your dream?”

“Yeah. For now, at least. What about you?”

When he asked that, I realized my heart had become like a bouncing ball in my chest. I hoped that, because of the rain on my hand, he wouldn’t be able to tell if I was clammy.

“My grandpa told me that when he came here, he rediscovered what was important in life: friendships, kindness, love. I guess… I want to keep playing in the band, because I love singing, but I don’t know if that’s my dream. I think my dream would be… to fall in love.”

“Really now?” he asked, smiling with a cock of his eyebrow. I felt the heat flush my cheeks.

“Yeah. I know it sounds dumb, but that’s just… something I’ve never done in my life. Like I said, I wasn’t good at making friends in the city. My love life was nonexistent.”

“So, you haven’t dated since high school?” he asked, incredulously. I burst out in an ugly laugh.

“I’m flattered that you think I was able to attract another person to me in high school. No, I wasn’t exactly a master seducer.”

“So…”

“I have never dated before. Ever.”

“Ever?”

“Ever.”

“Wow,” he said, looking back straight ahead.

“Are you avoiding eye contact with me? I knew it! I shouldn’t have said that, it’s fucking embarrassing.”

“No! No, it’s fine. It’s just… how is that possible?”

“What do you mean? It’s possible; it’s the truth.”

“No, no! I just meant… you’re so… great, and pretty.” As soon as the word ‘pretty’ left his lips, his cheeks went rosy pink.

“Aw, Seb, you think I’m pretty? I can honestly say, I don’t know if I’ve heard anyone aside from my mom say that.”

“Maybe all that hard work on the farm brings it out in you.”

“So, if I wasn’t working on the farm, I’d be ugly?” I teased.

“That’s not what I meant!” he cried.

“I’m messing with you, Seb! I think that’s really… sweet of you.” He smiled and it was the cutest little boyish smile I had ever seen. I was in far too deep to abort mission now.

We had arrived at the only house on the mountain road.

“I… I don’t know if now is the best time, right before we go inside and see Demetrius and all that, but I have something I really want to ask. Do you… wanna hang out sometime? Like, just the two of us?”

I met his eyes, which seemed to be cringing internally at himself as he awaited a response.

“Yeah. I would like that. I think that could be fun.”

He exhaled deeply.

“I honestly thought you were going to say no, heheh.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while, I have more chapters written I just got busy and forgot to upload them XD

Sebastian opened the door and held it open for me to enter first. I could hear the clattering of silverware and dishes coming from the kitchen, which caused me to hesitate for a moment. Maybe they had already finished cooking? Maybe they didn’t make enough for five people?

“Go on,” he ushered.

I stepped through the doorway and entered the foyer of the house, where Robin did all her carpenting business. I was sopping wet from the torrential downpour, and realized I was leaving puddles all over the floor.

“Oh, do you have a towel I could use?”

“I’ll go grab one.”

From the hallway, I could hear footsteps approaching the foyer.

“Sebby? Is that you? Dinner’s almost ready,” Robin said as she entered the room with us.

“Oh, Andie! Did you get caught out in the rain?”

“Just a little bit,” I quipped.

“Sebby, would you-”

“I’m already going to grab a towel, mom, relax.”

“Thank you,” she called after him as he scurried over to the hallway closet. She turned back to me. “Good thing Sebby found you! You would have practically drowned in this weather before you ever got back to the farm.”

Maybe it was better she didn’t know I had been out there for hours.

Sebastian came back with a dark brown towel for me.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing the towel and rubbing it through my hair, just drying it enough so it would stop dripping.

“We could toss your clothes in the dryer, maybe?” Robin suggested.

“And wear what? I think your clothes would be too small for me. Besides, if dinner’s almost ready, I don’t wanna put it on hold so that my clothes can dry. Maybe I should just head home,” I said, realizing this might not work.

“No, not at all! We don’t mind waiting. The dryer is in the bathroom, and you could wait in there after putting the clothes in, that way we can all eat together.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

“Alrighty, then.”

 

Robin showed me the dryer settings and left me to it.  Once my clothes were toasty hot, I removed them from the dryer and threw them back on. I didn’t even realize how chilly I had gotten in the past 15 minutes until suddenly I was surrounded by soft warmth. I sat in my clothes to warm up for a moment. I had a feeling Demetrius wasn’t going to be happy about dinner being delayed, and I still felt extremely uncomfortable about the fact that they were willing to wait for me, but it was too late to go home now that they had waited. I took in a deep breath and exited the bathroom, heading for the kitchen.

“Robin?”

“There you are, Andie. Feeling cozy now?”

“Yeah. Much better.”

As I entered the kitchen, I saw that Robin, with help from Maru, had started putting the pasta in bowls; she must have started as soon as the bathroom door opened. I saw that an extra chair had been pulled up that didn’t match the rest. I took that to be my seat. It was beside Sebastian and across from Demetrius. I met eyes with Sebastian for a moment. He smiled at me kindly, but I could see his knee bouncing and his hand shaking a bit. He probably could have used another cigarette before sitting down to dinner with Demetrius and us in the same room.

A plate was placed in front of me. I waited for other plates to be passed around before chowing down. Once everyone had one, and had begun eating, I leaned into my own plate. It was good. Not better than nonna’s, of course, but still delicious.

“This spaghetti is really good, Robin.”

“Maru actually helped make most of the sauce. And I agree, it is delicious!”

“Aw, thanks. I just followed your recipe, mom,” she laughed.

“Do you cook a lot, Maru?”

“I’m just kinda starting to a little bit. I tried to make pizza a couple weeks ago, but I started tinkering, lost track of time and burnt it by accident. But I’ve made some dishes with fish, and this tomato sauce.”

“I just started cooking more too. I forgot how much work it is. It heats the house up so much too. Summer is not the time to have the oven on,” I joked, trying to make the smallest of small talk possible. “What about you, Seb? You cook?”

“Oh, uh, not very much, no. I’m more of a frozen pizza kinda guy, heh.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest, Sebby! You can make my pumpkin soup almost as good as me! Oh, Andie, you’ll have to try it once Fall comes around,” Robin gushed.

“I’d like that. Maybe you’d cook it for me, Seb,” I teased. I couldn’t tell if his cheeks were still rosy from the cold, or if he was embarrassed at being outed as a decent cook. He continued to poke at his pasta plate.

“We’ll see, maybe some time.”

“Your sister is taking up more of the cooking around here, Sebastian. It would be nice if you could help out a bit more too. Your mother is very busy with work lately; everyone wants jobs done before the weather starts to get cold,” Demetrius said, calmly.

“I’ll try. I’m very busy with contracts lately too, you know? Everyone wants to release their projects in the Summer, so all the due dates are kinda coming to a head,” Sebastian explained.

“Your sister is making time to help out despite working at Harvey’s clinic. I think you can help make dinner a couple nights a week.”

“They’re not really comparable, Demetrius,” Robin cut in. “It’s okay, if Sebby’s busy, he can help out more when Fall comes. We’re managing just fine right now.”

“Maru is only working part-time. I basically work full-time hours,” Sebastian explained.

“When I was your age-”

“Demetrius, don’t start on that. Seb isn’t you. And please, we have company over right now. Can we pick this up later?” Robin begged.

“Fine,” Demetrius humphed.

“So, Andie, how’s Nightshade Farm?”

“Oh, it’s...not bad,” I said, cringing internally.

“Oh. Is something wrong? Is the coop I built alright? If not, I’ll come fix it free of charge.”

“No, no, the coop is fine! The chickens love it too. The plants aren’t dealing well with the heat though. I can’t seem to keep them watered enough. I think I need to set up a sprinkler system before next Summer, which I can’t afford right now, so I’m basically stuck without crops until Fall. Hopefully, things will go back to normal then.”

“Oh, that’s awful! I’m sure Pierre would be willing to give you any farming advice you might need. Are you getting by okay?”

“Yeah, I’ve taking up mining a lot more. It’s been keeping me afloat.”

“Oh wow, I heard the mines are quite dangerous.”

“Yeah, they are, but I think I’ve kinda figured out how to stay safe down there. I bring a sword with me, and health supplies.”

“Ever find any rare mushrooms down there?” Demetrius asked. I was surprised to see him actually taking an interest.

“Oh, not yet. Maybe once I get down a little deeper I will. Are they...useful to you?”

“Oh, yes. I could use them for my research if you happen upon any.”

“I’ll keep an eye out, then.”

It went quiet for a little while as we ate.

“Oh, Sam’s coming over after dinner for Solarian Chronicles,” Sebastian seemed to remember out of the blue. “You can stay and play with us, if you want Andie.”

“Sure. I’ve never played but it looks like fun!”

“Which reminds me, are coming to see the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies? It’s in, wow, two nights. Summer went by quickly,” Robin asked me.

“Yes! Abigail explained it to me, it sounds lovely.”

“It is! You never forget the first time you see it, but it’s just as beautiful every year, to be honest.”

“I’ll definitely be coming then.”

“It can be quite romantic, you know?” As soon as she said it, I choked a bit in the middle of a drink of water. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Just went down the wrong hole, completely unrelated to the conversation.” I continued to cough until my throat felt clear. Sebastian smiled cringingly at me and then to Robin. “Why isn’t Abigail coming to play Solarian Chronicles?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“She has some college work to do. I think it’s an essay or something.”

“Oh, that sucks.”

“Yeah, I’d die if I had to write an essay.” I chuckled at that. Demetrius didn’t look pleased at Sebastian saying that, especially since he had been vying so hard to send Maru to medical school. 

“It’s not  _ that _ bad,” Maru said. Sounded like she was probably prepared for that future as well.

 

Soon, dinner was over and Sebastian and I headed down to his room to wait for Sam to arrive. I took a seat with Sebastian at the table in his room where the game was set up. He began setting up a new game.

“So, what was with the coughing?”

“What do you mean? I drank water, it went down the wrong hole.” I could try, at least.

“I’m not an idiot,” he said, cocking his head to the side, looking displeased. I inhaled deeply.

“It’s nothing, really. It’s completely stupid, actually. Not even worth talking about.”

“Well, you’ve piqued my curiosity now. Was it something my mom said?” he was making intense eye contact with me now,  _ not unlike that from the dre- _ .

“So, let’s just say...Your mom was over, working on my kitchen, right?”

“Right,” he said slowly, as if saying ‘go on’.

“And let’s say while she was over, I had had a long day and took a nap, right?”

“Oh my god, you slept with my mom.” He teased.

“No! Oh my god, no.”

“I’m just kidding! Go on.”

“And let’s say while I was dreaming, your mom might have heard me saying things… in my sleep.”

“Things like…”

“Like, I’m not sure. She wouldn’t tell me. She said that she didn’t hear anything, but I’m pretty sure she’s lying.”

“Well, she is a bad liar so she probably did hear something,” Sebastian said, as he placed some cards around the table and took a play book out from a drawer in the table. “So, what was the dream about?”

“Jeez, I can’t say. Just-just trust me, that’s all you really need to know. It was a weird dream, not worth mentioning. I barely even remember it anymore, honestly. You know what, I’m gonna go use the bathroom before Sam gets here. Yeah, that’s a good idea. Don’t wanna have to leave in the middle of the game. I’ll be right back,” I spieled on.

“You’re a bad liar too.” He had the smuggest smile on his face as I hurried up the stairs and headed to the bathroom.

I closed the door and turned around, holding it closed with my back. I let out a massive exhale. Should I tell him about the dream? It was just a dream, after all. But he might get the wrong idea, that I’m lusting after him uncontrollably or something. Which, maybe I am a little bit. He doesn’t have to know it’s anything more than a crush though. For now, maybe it’s best he doesn’t know.

I was about to leave when I realized I could hear Robin and Demetrius chatting as they cleaned up the dishes. I heard a kettle go off. They must have been making tea or coffee.

“Did you see how she coughed when I mentioned the Moonlight Jellies?” Robin laughed.

“Oh boy, she really does like him, doesn’t she? He’s never really had that,” Demetrius remarked.

“Yeah, even when he and Abby were together, she never was head over heels for him.”

“Do you think he even knows that she feels this way? He’s not really experienced, and she’s a city girl. She could break his heart.” Robin just laughed aloud at that.

“I don’t think so, Dimi. I know you don’t like her alternative looks, but if you’d ever spoken to her one on one, as a person, you’d be able to see that she’s quite shy too. I don’t think she really has much experience in relationships either. She’s so sweet though. I think she could be good for him, you know?”

“You know them both better than me.”

“They are pretty similar. I think they’re getting along quite well. If only Sebby would pick up on how she feels. Or maybe she’ll ask him out. There could be a bouquet in his future, just saying!” Robin hinted to Demetrius.

I grunted quietly to myself. Did everyone and their dog have to know about my crush? Was it that obvious? Well, Seb did ask to hang out, but I don’t want to assume how he meant it. I swallowed my pride and marched out of the room.

“Oh, Andie! I didn’t know you were upstairs,” Robin said awkwardly. “Would you mind bringing these drinks downstairs for the three of you? I saw that you drank tea while I was over working on the kitchen, so I made you some tea. The black coffee is for Seb, and the milky coffee is for Sam.”

“Oh, sure thing, Robin,” I said bashfully as I took the tray of mugs and carried them slowly downstairs, careful not to spill even a drop.

When I got downstairs, I hadn’t realized Sam had arrived and cried aloud to Sebastian,

“Your parents are talking about us again- Oh! Sam, you’re here!” This day just got better and better. “Well, Robin made us some drinks,” I said as I began putting them down on the table. Sam laughed at my awkward entrance.

“Why are they talking about you two?”

“That’s what parents do,” Sebastian shrugged, handing Sam his cards. “You’re playing warrior again, Sam?”

“Yep!”

“Wizard and healer are left. Which do you want, Andie?”

“Uh, I’ll take healer. I think a support position sounds alright for now.”

“I thought you’d never played,” Sebastian asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’ve played RPG video games though, I get the concept,” I explained, as I placed down the last drink, my own tea in front of me. It smelled of earl grey, my favourite. Robin must have remembered.

“Okay. I’ll take the wizard. I think we’re ready to start now. Let’s draw a scenario card,” Sebastian explained, pulling a card out of the deck. “Looks like we’re going into the Necromancer’s Tower to try and reclaim the Solarion Staff from the clutches of Dreadlord Xarth,” he read off the card. “Let’s begin.”

 

_ The King has entrusted you and your companions with recovering the Solarion Staff… a task which, if completed successfully, will ensure your place in the hall of legends as well as a sizable fortune of gold and silver. _

_ After a long month of journeying across unforgiving lands, you step out onto a precipice to see your destination looming in the distance. _

_ There, beyond a moonlit plain, lies the Necromancer’s Tower… where Dreadlord Xarth usurps the power of the stolen Solarion Staff for his vile purposes. _

_ The tower lies before you. Will you: _

 

  * __Go in the front, for fortune favors the bold. Or,__


  * _Search for a back entrance and remain hidden._



 

 

“What do you think, Sam?” I asked, turning to him.

“I think that, as a warrior, I could handle anything we come across. Let’s head in the front.”

“Alrighty, let’s do it.”

 

_ A skeleton guards the hallway before you. It looks dangerous. What do you do? _

 

  * __Fight the skeleton.__


  * _Run away_



 

 

“Fight!” Sam replied immediately.

 

_ The skeleton lunges forward! Will you: _

 

  * __Swing your weapons__


  * _Raise your shields_



 

 

“Raise shield!” Sam decides again.

 

_ You successfully block the attack. The skeleton stumbles backward, giving you enough time to strike out and slay the foul creature. _

 

“Yes!”

 

_ You continue down the hallway, taking care not to step on the skeleton’s remains. Now, you find yourself in a sewer-like corridor. To your left, a hallway glows with a peculiar green light. To your right, a staircase leads up into the dark. What do you do? _

 

“You pick this time, Andie.”

“Let’s go with the stairs. Xarth is probably up in a tower, right?”

“Stairs it is!”

 

_ You’ve come to a door at the end of the hallway. The time has come to face Dreadlord Xarth. Xarth notices you enter the room, and he screams, _

_ “Intruders? How dare you trespass in my private chambers!” _

 

Sebastian left a pause for us to roleplay.

“We’ve come to stop you!” I said, rather meekly.

“Yeah! We’re taking that staff back!”

 

_ “Ah, so you’ve come for the Solarion Staff… Hehehe… fools. You’ll make a nice addition to my skeleton army!” _

_ Dreadlord Xarth begins muttering an incantation. What do you do? _

 

  * __Cast ‘Pure Beam’ at Xarth__


  * _Put a ‘Shield Charm’ on your friends_



 

 

“Shield charm!” I replied.

 

_ You have placed a shield charm on the warrior Sam and the wizard Sebastian. Xarth sends bolts of pure dark energy flying. One of them strikes Sebastian, but your ‘Shield Charm’ reflects it back into Xarth’s face! _

_ Xarth is defeated, and the Solarion Staff glows peacefully. Order has been restored to the world! _

 

“Fuckin’ nice!” I cheered.

“Hey, not bad!” Sebastian responded.

“We make a pretty good team,” Sam suggested.

“Yeah, we do. And you beat your first scenario! It took me, like, three or four tries to beat my first one.”

“Wow. This was fun! I could definitely do this again sometime!”

“We’ll invite you next time we play!” Sam exclaimed.

“I’d like that.”

As I took the final sip of my tea, now cool in the mug, I checked my phone for the time.

“It’s getting late. I should go. I’ll see both of you at the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, I assume?” I asked as I stood up and grabbed my bag.

“Yeah, the whole town always goes. You don’t wanna miss it.”

“Great! See you tomorrow, guys.”

“See you, Andie!”

“Buh-bye!”


	16. Chapter 16

The morning of the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, I awoke to Honey nuzzling my face, and sniffing loudly.

“Okay, okay. I’ll let you out. Just let me wake up.”

I sat up at the side of the bed, rubbed my eyes, and stretched my arms and legs out ahead of me. I stood up and let Honey out before setting the kettle on. I yawned and leaned against the counter, trying to get my eyes open for good. I decided today was a coffee kinda day and made myself a cup before going outside and sitting down on the porch to look over the farm where Honey was chasing some birds off up a tree.

I took the first sip of the coffee, which was strong, only slightly sweet and slightly creamy. It was perfect. I rarely enjoyed instant coffee, but it was my only option nowadays. Maybe one day I’d buy an espresso machine. I looked out at the area of tilled soil, which mostly featured shriveled up leaves, all brown and withered. I had stopped watering them last week, since Summer was almost over and I could make ends meet anyways. Tomorrow, Fall would begin and I could start anew. The weather did seem to be cooling off a bit. I’d rest today and plant the new crops tomorrow, and hopefully they would live to fruition.

 

I spent the morning in the mines, and got home early to get ready for the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies and get out of my farming clothes. I did my make-up, really just eyeliner and mascara, and slipped on my favourite black velvet dress and a choker. I took a last look in the mirror; my green hair was starting to fade out a little bit, at last. At least Abigail didn’t accidentally use the same magic that made her hair stay the same colour. Soon I’d be able to dye over it and get back to one of my more familiar cooler tones: blues, violets and periwinkles. Soon I’d be back to my normal hair colour back.

I closed the door on Honey, and headed out into the warm Summer night. I didn’t bring my bag with me, for once. No deadweight for tonight, no tools or stones, just getting to hang out and be myself. I was looking forward to that.

 

As I arrived at the beach, I wasn’t sure what to expect. At this time of night, the darkness fell over the town like a lush, velvety blanket. Tonight was different, however. Tonight, candles floated through the edges of the water on tiny little rafts, illuminating the edges of the sand. The glow of the candles against the water was soft and mesmerizing. It was the perfect amount of light to be enjoying the night without being too bright.

I removed my sandals and walked through the taupe coloured sand, feeling it flatten beneath my feet with each step until I finally arrived at the meeting of the sea and land. Here, the sand was damp and I could squish it between my toes as I examined the surroundings. Abigail’s parents weren’t far off, standing near the shore and waiting for the event to begin. Even grumpy ol’ George came out with Granny Evelyn, who I hadn’t spoken with much but despite this she had baked me a couple pies since I’d moved into town.

I looked out, down the docks. Haley and Alex were stood next to each other, as per usual, holding hands. Haley seemed to be giving him an earful. Shane was watching over Jas, and nearby Mayor Lewis was hanging out with Fisherman Willy. To the side of Lewis and Willy was a small candlelit boat, seemingly waiting to be shipped off. On the dock parallel to that one was where I could make out three figures, one with Sam’s trademark spiky hair.

I left the squishy sand and headed down the dock, feeling the worn, rounded off wood below my bare feet now. A couple cooler breezes made their way by us; Fall certainly was just around the corner.

I arrived at the end of the dock. Sebastian noticed someone coming and looked over at me, smiling as I arrived by their side. Sam then noticed my presence and announced,

“Andie’s here!”

“I take it nothing’s happened yet?” I asked.

“Nope. Mayor Lewis will set that boat to sail and then the jellies will all come in at once!” Abigail explained, throwing her hands up in the air. Sam took a seat at the edge of the dock and stared into the water.

“I wonder if they’re poisonous?” he thought aloud, staring down at his own reflection in the dark.

“Only one way to find out,” Sebastian teased, placing his well-worn sneaker on the back of Sam’s hoodie as if preparing to push him off.

“Don’t you do it!” he cried. Sebastian put his foot back down with a snicker.

I sat down on the edge of the dock, a little ways down from where Sam sat. Sebastian sat down next to me, dangling his legs off the pier.

“You know, I thought I saw something moving in there… Something big. Something dark,” Sebastian went on, holding his hand out, wiggling his fingers like little tentacles.

“You’re being a real jokester tonight, eh?” I laughed.

“Please, stop Seb,” Abigail whined. “I don’t wanna be scared, this is a beautiful, rare event, it should be exciting.”

“Alright, alright. Chickens.”

“So, is everyone ready for tomorrow’s gig?” Sam said, trying to change the subject.

“Please, Sam, I don’t wanna think about tomorrow right now,” Sebastian grumbled.

“Alright, alright. Just remember we changed the order of the verses in ‘Love Accident’ and-”

“And we changed the drum pattern for ‘City By the Sea,’ we know, we know!” Abigail cut in now.

“Okay. I’m sorry, I don’t give you guys enough credit.”

I looked down at the inky black pool below the dock - murky, and hypnotic. Though it shouldn’t, it still seemed to call my name.

 

_ No, I’m happy now. I don’t want you. _

 

“Mayor Lewis is releasing the boat,” Abigail whispered.

 

_ I’m tired of thinking about you. I don’t want this life to end, it keeps getting better and better. A few dead plants won’t stop me. Besides, I have friends now. I should be happy, right? _

 

The void of the black sea didn’t seem to reply. Until-

A bubble of light appeared directly below me; within it, a small, globular jellyfish. The pale blue glow was unlike anything I had ever seen.

“Whoa!” Sam gasped from beside me. Abigail whispered into the gentle chill of the night,

“Oh my…”

Another bubble of light approached the dock parallel. And soon another from the other side of the beach. And soon, hundreds, maybe even thousands, popping into view all around the docks, illuminating the night like thousands of bioluminescent candles, floating just below the surface of the water. I leaned in, just a slight bit, hunching over myself to examine the dozens of jellyfish floating under the dock.

I continued to examine all around me, feeling the need to view this from every angle when I felt a hand slowly lay itself upon mine, sat on the dock beside my body. I’d recognize that cool hand anywhere, anytime now. I lifted my hand just a little bit, so he could hold it properly, and then squeezed his hand gently.

“Amazing,” I breathed out. I realized I hadn’t blinked in a while, and my jaw was hanging open. I took myself back for a moment to adjust my eyes and relax my jaw.

“Isn’t it?” he replied.

I looked up at him, and he looked up at me concurrently. We met eyes, and shared a smile. The gleam of the jellies on his face just made him look handsomer; the natural light of the nighttime, for a night owl like him, was so perfect. It was the only lighting he ever deserved: the moonbeams, the stars, and the soft, but neon glow of the creatures of the deep. Glad he couldn’t hear my thoughts, I tore myself away from our shared smile and returned to the sight.

The view didn’t get old. Even those who’d been living here since they were children still came, and I could see why.

“You’d never see something like this in the city,” I professed.

“Yeah. Only in Stardew Valley,” he responded.

“Only in Stardew Valley.” I squeezed his hand once more, and met his eyes again from under my heavy fringe, and him from around his. His violent, dark eyes seemed to be exploring mine, as they often did, and for a moment I wondered what he looked for in them. What did he hope to find, delving into my gaze?

I didn’t know a lot of things for certain. I didn’t know what the future would hold, but I did know one thing: this guy was something special, and he certainly seemed to think I was too. I’d never met someone who looked at me like he did: like I was someone incredible.


	17. Chapter 17

Sebastian walked me home after the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, much to the delight of Abigail and Sam who, I think, were beginning to sense that there was something between us. He patted Honey’s head before saying goodbye and I retreated to a deep, relaxed sleep.

 

The next day, I woke up bright and early, as per usual, to tend to the future plot of the new crops. I retilled everything and added fertilizer before heading to Pierre’s to buy some new seeds for the Fall. I didn’t have much time to do the planting before I had to meet at Sam’s house to get the gear onto a bus for our first gig outside of Pelican Town.

I planted a huge area of pumpkins knowing those would kill as Spirit’s Eve approached, and I also planted a batch cranberries as well as a smaller space for yams. They were all planted by noon, and then I just had to water them. I received a text from Sebastian around then.

 

_ Sam’s going crazy. Are you coming soon? _

 

I replied back,

 

_ Just need to water new crops, be over in like 20 mins. _

 

And got back to work. Once the soil was dampened, I hurried inside, changed into my outfit for the gig - black jeans, and a black t-shirt with an alien head on it - and prepared my bag. Sam had given me the microphone from Mayor Lewis to watch over before the gig, so I grabbed the mic and the cord and stowed them cautiously into my backpack before sliding on a pair of classic sneakers and hitting the road into town, to Sam’s house.

I asked Mayor Lewis to, if I hadn’t come back in time, let Honey out for a potty when he came to pick up the goods from my sell box that night, and once in between when he had a moment to spare.

I arrived at Sam’s to see the door wide open as a couple drum cases were being rolled out.

“Andie! Everything’s in cases, and Pam’s agreed to drive us out,” Abigail said, bringing me up to speed.

“Sounds good. We ready to start bringing these to the bus stop?”

“I think that should be it,” Sam said, guitar case on his back and amplifier in hand. He huffed as he placed it on the stone road in front of his house.

“That’s everything,” Sebastian affirmed, exiting Sam’s house last.

“Okay, we’re ready to go. What can I carry?” I asked, grabbing a couple drum cases, seeing as there were obviously too many for Abigail to carry.

“That’ll be a big help. Thanks,” she said, picking up a few of them as well.

Once each piece of gear was in someone’s hands, we began walking over.

“This is exciting! Our first time playing a gig in the city,” Sam said, grinning up at the sunlight of Fall. 

“Yeah. This must be the first time you’re going back, isn’t it, Andie?” Abigail asked.

“Yep. I hope you guys don’t mind, but I actually told my parents about the gig and I have a feeling they’ll be there. They just love seeing me perform. You know, parents,” I said.

“Yeah, that’s awesome! You know all of our parents, now we finally get to meet yours.”

“Oh Yoba, they’re gonna embarrass me, aren’t they?” I held my head with one hand while Abigail giggled in response.

“If they don’t, I’ll make them.”

“Thanks, Abby. I can always count on you,” I replied sarcastically.

We arrived at the bus stop, where Pam had started the bus to let it warm up, and we started loading everything into the hold underneath the bus. We then hopped on and took seats near the back of the bus.

Sebastian sat next to me, and Abigail and Sam sat in the seats directly in front of us. Once the bus was moving, Sam pulled out a handheld gaming device, which Abigail excitedly watched him play, begging for a turn, and Sebastian pulled out a book, which I realized was the second book from the series he let me borrow the first book of.

“Oh, that reminds me, I’m getting close to finishing the first one,” I said, motioning to the book in his hand as I pulled out my phone and plugged my ear buds into it.

“Yeah? I’ll have to make sure I finish this one soon then so you can borrow it next. How you liking it?”

“It’s really great! A good balance of fantasy mixed in with the sci fi, but also it seems to tell a very meaningful story.”

“Yeah, I’d agree with you there.”

I put my earbuds in and started playing some alt rock music and drifted off within my head for a while.

Perhaps twenty minutes later, Sebastian put his book away, seeming bored. He took his laptop out of his bag and started working on some coding. I couldn’t help but look over and examine all the text, describing actions to the computer in a language that it could understand, but I could not. Sebastian noticed me watching him and smiled but didn’t let me interrupt his work.

I felt awkward just watching him so offered him an earbud to share in my music. He looked at it for a moment before taking it and having a listen. I was nodding along to the music a little bit, and soon he was joining me. I caught him mouthing along to the lyrics of certain songs, which made me glad that we had similar taste in music. How awful I would have felt if I’d let him listen and he’d returned the earbud, telling me I had shitty taste.

“We’re about five minutes away,” Pam called down at us from the driver’s seat.

Sebastian closed his laptop, stowing it away, and then glanced out the window, watching as the scenery slowly changed from forests and valleys to suburbia and pavement. Sam and Abigail had even put the game down to check out the new sights as we passed through neighbourhoods of houses, all similar in build.

“This is where I grew up,” I commented. “That’s the coffee shop where I used to study when I was in university. And that park is where my friends and I used to hang out in high school - I’m not in touch with them anymore. I used to play there when I was little too.”

“Where did you used to go to eat? I’m starving,” Sam whined. I giggled in response.

“Wait till we get downtown. There’s tons of awesome places to eat.”

“Let’s get our stuff set up in the club first, that way we don’t have to haul it all into a restaurant,” Abigail cut in.

“Fair point.”

 

When we arrived at the club, Pam pulled over in front and we started unloading all our cases. Pam helped us carry them into the club, and the owner of the place showed us where to set up. Once all our stuff was set in place, we headed out onto the crowded streets of downtown Zuzu City.

“Wow. There’s so many people,” Sebastian commented, examining the surroundings.

“Come on, there’s an awesome sushi place you guys should try,” I ushered, disappearing into the crowd. It must have been easy to follow a girl with light green hair though, because when I broke out of the crowd on the other side of the block they weren’t far behind. “Now, this way.” And we walked in a group over to a less busy area, away from the outer edges of the shopping district.

The place was tiny, but they served delicious green tea and their sushi was my favourite in the whole city. We slid into the booth and were served tea. Without even looking at the menu, Sebastian ordered sashimi. We ordered a few rolls to mix and share, so that we could try a bit of everything and when the food came, everyone went silent to savour this ‘best sushi in town’.

“This is great!” Abigail exclaimed.

“Right!” I said.

“Perfect,” Sebastian mumbled, relishing in the soft, velvety salmon sashimi.

Sam was too busy scarfing down everything he could.

“What do you want to do before the show? We should be back there around an hour early to soundcheck and just make sure everything’s set up,” I asked them, popping a piece of sushi into my mouth.

“We could do some shopping. I haven’t come into the city to buy new clothes in a while,” Abigail suggested.

“Yeah, we could do that. There’s a really cool vintage store nearby, I think we could all find stuff to look at there.”

“That sounds kinda cool,” Sebastian said.

 

The smell of decades old clothes entered my nostrils, wafting through the air of the eccentric store. The carpets were a mixture of animal prints, and wild out-of-date shades of mustard and veridian. The place was small, but I had been there so many times that it felt so normal. I never thought about how it was the smallest store on the block, after all it was the only store I ever went in for fun. To me, it was a store, one of the few where I could actually enjoy shopping at that.

Abigail ran off to look at the dresses, made of lace and velvet, and psychedelic ‘60s and ‘70s patterns. I looked at them for a while with Abigail, but ‘60s and ‘70s sizes were always too small for me. Instead, I headed over to the large collection of flannels, most likely from the ‘80s and ‘90s. They were men’s sizes so I knew I’d find shirts that would fit. I grabbed a few in colours I liked and headed off to the changeroom. I ran into Sebastian looking through the t-shirts. I joined him for a while, looking through t-shirts with old, classic rock band logos and bizarre, outdated slogans. I found a couple that I liked and then continued my way to the changeroom. Sebastian followed me over, seeming bored with the t-shirts.

“These flannels will be good for farming in the fall. Things are starting to get chilly,” I explained, buttoning up a flannel in a mirror. The changerooms didn’t have a door, so I was just trying things on over my clothes.

“Yeah, those look warm. Not like the ones they make nowadays.”

“They are,” I said, rolling up one of the sleeves. “Yes, this is great. I think I’ll get both of these. Can’t beat the original flannels.”

“Is there anything else we can do since we’re here? Who knows when we’ll be coming back to the city.”

“Well, you might be coming back if that’s what you want,” I chuckled.

“All the more reason for me to figure out where to go.”

“There is one place that I used to go to a lot to write song lyrics, and just think.”

“Really? Where is it?”

“Should we take Sam and Abigail?” I asked, catching sight of them on the other side of the shop, flipping through the jean jackets.

“Well, I did say I wanted us to hang out alone.”

“Should we tell them?”

“Come on,” he said, taking my hand and leading me out of the store.

Once we were out on the street, he looked both ways, then looked over at me.

“Which way?”

I smiled up at him and then led him a few blocks down to the border of the older part of town. Soon we arrived at a newer building. It had been updated recently, but it housed one of the best sights in the city.

“Where are we?” he asked with a laugh. I dragged him into the building and past an elevator with a door man.

“We’re going up to the restaurant,” I told the door man. He just nodded and let us take the elevator up.

We entered the elevator with a small group of others.

“Are you ready?” I asked him.

“I guess. I don’t know for what though.”

Then the elevator started to move. The first few floors seemed normal, but once the elevator moved past that, light began filtering in, revealing that the back wall was made of glass. I watched Sebastian’s face for his reaction and it was priceless. His jaw dropped as the afternoon sunlight lit up his face. He backed up a step from the window as he watched the cement roads shrinking, and the people slowly getting smaller and smaller, like ants.

“We’re so high up,” he whispered to me.

“Crazy, isn’t it?” I whispered back, leaning in to the window a little bit. He followed my step. “I’ll just leave Sam and Abby a text to let them know we’ll be back on time for soundcheck.”

“Sure, sure...you used to come all the way up here to work?”

“Farthest you can get from the city without leaving it,” I chuckled.

Soon the elevator had surpassed the height of most buildings in the city, and then it came to a stop and the outside world could no longer be seen. We exited the elevator into the restaurant, and asked for a seat by the window. It wasn’t too busy at this time so we got to sit where we wanted, by the window of the rotating, circular room. Sebastian seemed so in awe.

“I don’t know if I can afford to eat here.”

“Don’t worry, we’re just gonna drink coffee and then leave,” I muttered. “Little trick to get up here cheap, just order drinks.”

The scene outside the window slowly rotated, making different parts of the city slowly visible as we revolved around. On the horizon, the sun was slowly setting over some mountains.

“That’s Stardew Valley, over those mountains there,” I pointed out.

“Wow. I guess it is, huh.”

We ordered coffees when the waiter came, and enjoyed them while observing the landscape of the city, the mountains, and the ocean. I took a sip of my coffee, only slightly sweet, and not as strong as I would like, but the view made up for it.

“So, you still thinking about moving out here?” I asked him.

“Yeah. I’ve been saving up for a place, and trying to find a company that would be willing to take me on full-time from home. If I could do that, I could save up more money and I’d have a job when I came here to stay.”

“That sounds like a plan,” I said, holding my coffee cup up. He lifted his cup of black coffee to meet mine, and they clinked in cheers. He held his cup in both of his hands as he blew the steam off the coffee and took a sip.

I started folding at my napkin absentmindedly as I watched the cars and pedestrians on the street below, so tiny they weren’t visible as individuals and noticeable only as changes in colour. I began to feel the kind of anxiety that made me leave the city to begin with. Those tiny moving ants, shuffling through the streets, stressing out over work, over making the right impression upon their friends, or whether they were generally productive enough. All those stresses seemed so small and meaningless from up here, but I could recall the feeling so vividly. In a way, I hadn’t entirely left that headspace yet. I was still worrying, all the time: was I doing enough for the townspeople considering how much they were doing for me, was I doing enough on the farm, was I being what my new friends needed me to be? I needed to learn to leave these thoughts behind now though. These weren’t worries I needed to have any more.

And yet, as I looked over at Sebastian who was slowly sipping on his coffee while admiring the horizon, a smile adorning his pale, cynical face, I couldn’t help but think what the city had done to my psychology. He deserved better than to end up like me, but I couldn’t just tell him not to go. I’d never seen him this happy, this in awe of something. How could I take that away from him? Maybe I had to let him figure this one out for himself. All I could do is tell him my own story. It’s up to him to write his.

“By the way, are you gonna tell me what your secret dream was about?”

I choked on my coffee. “I told you I don’t remember-”

“And I told you I don’t believe you.” he chuckled.

“Yeah, I know, I know, I’m a bad liar. Abby’s told me that before too.” I stared down at the steam flowing out of my cup for a moment. I realized what I wanted, I had already said it and hadn’t even realized. I wanted to fall in love, and I wanted him to be happy. If those two things worked out together then that’s fine, but if not, I’d have to be okay with that too.

“So, what, it was a sex dream, right? I don’t know what else would be this embarrassing.”

“Alright, alright, don’t push this mister.”

“Who was it about?”

“Let’s see, whose name could I say in my sleep that would make me most embarrassed to have Robin hear me mumbling, moaning even?” I said, playing it on a bit thick, but why not at this point? Isn’t that where this was all headed? It sure seemed that way. I could cheese it up, be a little flirty. I could make time for the farm, myself and him.

“Oh, I see. So, you do feel that way about me?”

“You’re the one who asked me to ‘hang out alone’. Why do you think I brought you up here?”

“Fair enough. Hanging out alone didn’t have to mean anything if you didn’t want it to.”

“ _ Fair enough _ , but what about holding my hand at the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, hmm? Face it, Seb, you liked me too.”

“Liked? Like.”

“Aw, you like me? You nerd.”

“You like a lot of the same geeky things I do,  _ nerd _ .” His eyes followed me, investigating my movements, reading my face like one of his sci fi novels.

I giggled and sipped my coffee, realizing it was the last drop. I can’t remember the last time I’ve giggled like that, like a child. I put the coffee cup down.

“We should get going soon,” Sebastian said, finishing off his coffee as well.

“Yeah. We have to play a show, blow the minds of some office stiffs.”

“Something like that. Also, I’m excited to meet your parents. Mom’s embarrassed me enough, not to mention Demetrius.”

“Oh Yoba, they really are gonna embarrass me, aren’t they?”

“You’ve asked that already, and yes they absolutely are.”


	18. Chapter 18

We made our way back to the venue where we found Abigail and Sam waiting for us. Patrons were beginning to enter the club and order drinks, but Seb and I bypassed all of them to get to the stage to soundcheck.

“Where did you two sneak off to?” Abby asked, arms crossed across her chest.

“I had to show Seb the city. You know, in case he gets an awesome job here someday,” I said, nudging his arm with my elbow.

“Not allowed - if you live in the city how are you gonna be in Fire Quartz?” Sam said, pointing at Seb with a capo sitting between his fingers.

“Relax, it’s just hypothetical.”

Sam glared at Sebastian with narrowed eyes before he went back to tuning his guitar.

 

As we went through tuning up and soundchecking, I kept an eye out for my parents. Once my microphone was set up, I paced back and forth near the back of the stage doing my vocal warm ups, unable to be heard by the rest of the club while music blared through the speakers. It was hard to keep track of the people entering the club amidst the crowd. I didn’t think Sam had gotten us a gig at such a busy place, but the man pulled it off.

Once I had gone through my warm ups, I approached Abigail, still checking all her drums were in a comfortable place and playing with the stands.

“Ten minutes,” she said, a gleeful smile pulling on her face.

“Yep. At least Sam seems a little less nervous this time around. Seb, well, he’ll be fine. I think he just went out for a smoke, and he’ll come in and he’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, I think we’re all a bit more comfortable with performing. You still sound a bit anxious right now though.”

“My parents should be walking in the place any minute now. They haven’t seen me perform in years, not since I moved to the city.”

“They also haven’t seen you at all since you left.”

“Yeah, that too.”

I checked my phone to see if they’d texted or called, but it seemed there was nothing. I stowed it back into my pocket and paced around a bit more, trying to shake my jitters out while glancing over at the entrance every few seconds.

I noticed Sebastian reentering the club and, to my surprise, he was holding the door for a middle-aged couple: mom and dad. Confused, I watched Sebastian seeming to make light conversation with them and guiding them towards the stage. When I caught my mother’s eye, her whole face lit up. I missed seeing that.

Feeling excitement rising in my chest, I waved them over. Once Sebastian had fought them a path through the crowd, he hopped up onto the stage. I hopped down and threw my arms around my parents’ shoulders.

“Andie! I’m so glad to see you, honey. You have such a healthy glow! You look good.”

“Thanks, mom,” I smiled as we pulled apart.

“The green hair is something. Maybe I should dye my hair green,” my dad joked.

“You know what, dad? I think you could pull it off,” I laughed. “It was kind of a mishap with the dye. Anyways, we can talk about that later. I missed you guys so much, but our set is about to start any minute.”

“Of course, we can catch up later. You’ll have to thank this young man, Sebastian for getting us through this crowd, by the way.”

“I’ll tell him. How did you get talking to him though?”

“He approached us. He said he saw our picture in your house,” my dad explained.

“Oh, that makes sense.” I was surprised he noticed my family photos, let alone remembered what my parents looked like. That was kind of him.

Then, the club’s owner started announcing us to the stage.

“That’s my cue.”

“Go get ‘em, honey! Break a leg!”

“Go be like Freddie Mercury,” my dad said encouragingly.

“Dunno if I’m that good, but thanks guys.”

 

I hopped up onto the stage with the rest of the band, detouring around the keyboard on my way to the microphone.

“Thanks for bringing my parents in, Seb,” I whispered to him, placing a hand over his shoulder for a brief moment before finding my spot at the mic. His cheeks went slightly rosy.

“We are Fire Quartz, from Stardew Valley,” I announced to weak cheers from the audience. Sam took that as an opportunity to pump up the crowd and get a proper applause before we went into our set.

 

We played for around forty-five minutes getting generous, but not crazy applause. That’s about what I expected for us. We played well, which we could be proud of at least for tonight.

Once our set was over we all high fived and started packing up our stuff, and when everything was packed up we all sat down at a table my parents had managed to snag during the set. I introduced my parents to Abigail and Sam, and reintroduced them to Sebastian while we ordered some drinks.

“So, Abigail, you’re Caroline’s girl? You look so much like her. How is she?” my mom asked, turning to her as she took a sip of white wine.

“Oh, thanks. She’s doing well. You should come down to the Valley sometime, I’m sure she’d love to see you and catch up!” Abigail said.

“I would love to see how the farm is doing. Is Andie taking good care of it?” Mom left the question open and smiled at me.

“Oh yeah! It was piled with weeds and trees, and now it’s starting to look like an actual farm!” Sam said.

I squeezed a lime wedge into my rum and coke and stirred it in with the straw.

“Yeah, I was struggling to keep my summer crops alive, but I planted new crops this morning and I think it’ll be a better season this time around,” I explained, looking up at the group.

“Oh, how did you make money during the summer?” my dad asked.

“Well, I did some fishing and I have a couple chickens now so I’ve been selling eggs and mayonnaise.” I felt it was better to leave out mining as I’m sure they’d think it was too dangerous.

“You have animals too?”

“Yeah. Two chickens and a dog. You guys would love her, her name’s Honey. She’s a newfie.”

“Oh, aren’t those big dogs? We’ve only ever had smaller breeds.”

“Yeah, she’s a big girl but she’s harmless and gentle. She naps a lot and chases squirrels off the farm. Sometimes when she lies on me, my limbs fall asleep, but that’s about the worst she can do.”

“I’d love to meet her,” mom said, dreamily leaning on her hand. “And how did you all meet?” she asked, referencing all of us.

“Well, I met Abigail at her dad’s shop when I first got to Pelican Town, Seb’s mother, Robin, is a carpenter and she met me when I first arrived so she introduced us, and Sam and I met at the town saloon.”

“Oh, I miss Pelican Town sometimes. Maybe in Winter, we’ll come visit for the Feast of the Winter Star.”

“Yeah, we could use a nice quiet vacation,” my dad replied, shrugging. “It’d be nice to see how you’re living. We’ve visited Serena in the city or had her over almost every weekend for coffee, or dinner.”

“Yeah! You can come stay with me, or at the Saloon, and we can do Winter Star together! That would be really nice. I mean, not that I’m ever really alone in Pelican Town, but I have missed you guys,” I admitted. “I wish you could have seen the Moonlight Jellies last night!”

“Oh my, it’s been decades since I’ve seen them, but they’re beautiful,” my mom gushed.

“It’s just as beautiful and romantic as every other year - that is to say, it’s gorgeous, not that it gets old or anything. It really doesn’t,” Abigail cut in. “We all saw it together, right at the end of the pier.”

“Yeah, it’s always incredible,” Sam said.

As Abigail and Sam raved on about the Moonlight Jellies, I took a moment to check on Sebastian. He had been relatively quiet. I glanced over to see him tapping his fingers along the table mindlessly, yet to touch his beer but following along with the conversation. When he noticed me watching, he offered a weak smile.

“You feelin’ about ready to leave, Seb? You must be tired,” I asked him. I would have liked to spend more time with my parents, but if they were going to be coming for Winter Star, we would have much more time then and Sebastian did look anxious. If there’s one thing I needed when my anxiety was bad, it was someone to give me an out.

“I am tired, but I don’t wanna- I mean, you probably wanna spend more time together, it’s been so long since you’ve seen each other,” he said, gesturing between my parents and I.

“It’s okay, Sebastian. You guys should be heading out, it’s starting to get late. Andie and us will catch up during the Winter feast,” my mother kindly suggested.

“Here, I’ll call Pam to bring the bus back. Hopefully she didn’t stop at a bar in the city to drink while we were here,” he commented, pulling his phone out. My mother’s eyes widened a little bit.

“Should… should we be worried about that.”

“Oh, no, mom. It’s fine. I’m sure Pam would never drink before driving us. Sam’s just teasing,” I said, eyeing him angrily. I wasn’t sure if I believed my own words, but I hoped to Yoba Pam had more sense than to drink.

Sam just held his hands up innocently and made the call.

“We should probably start heading home too,” my mom said, grabbing her bag and standing up. My father followed suit, getting out of his seat.

“Yeah, we’ve got a bit of a drive back too,” he said.

“Okay. I look forward to seeing you guys in Winter, then!” I said, getting out of my barstool seat to give them each a hug.

“We’re looking forward to it too! Love you.”

“Have a safe drive home. See you in Winter.”

“You too. I love you both.”

Once we had finished hugging, they turned to leave and waved as they reached the exit, and I returned the wave. I sat back down with the rest of the band, Sam just finishing his call to Pam.

“Alright, she’s on her way. So, good show tonight everybody! I was thinking that maybe with some of the money from tonight we could get Emily to help us make stage outfits.”

“I dunno if we really need that, Sam. Maybe we should just consider the money profit for tonight,” Abigail suggested.

“Well, I think Andie at least needs something better to wear. She’s our frontwoman.”

“Do we really need that though? I didn’t think we were that kind of band. Indie bands can go on stage in pajamas and it just becomes their aesthetic. I think we can be a jeans and t-shirts band,” I said, throwing in my two cents. Sam sighed.

“Okay, I guess that’s fair. Seb, you agree with them too?”

“Yeah, I am not getting fitted for some stage uniform. And knowing you, it’ll have glitter or something.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I was thinking more like matching leather jackets, or maybe varsity jackets, not glitter, but I still see what you mean.” Sam seemed downtrodden despite being so understanding.

Underneath the table, I felt Sebastian’s hand slipping into mine. There was a shake to it, still. We’d be leaving soon though.

 

Pam arrived maybe ten minutes later, close to ten o’clock, and we piled our stuff back into the bus and hopped on to head home.

We drove through the same hills, fields and mountains only now it was barely visible in darkness of the night except for some moonlight and the occasional streetlamp. Sam and Abigail sat near the front of the bus near Pam, but Seb and I still sat near the back, still holding hands. Driving through the night seemed to calm him down and soon his hands stopped shaking. He took some deep breaths, yawning once or twice. After a while, I felt I should ask him,

“Do you want to talk about it?” I waited for an answer, but he just stared out the window. “I’ve had bad anxiety before, so I get it if you want to talk.”

He brushed over my hand with his thumb, gently petting.

“It’s okay. I’m alright now. I just wanna get home.”

“Did you almost have a panic attack? You can tell me, I know what it’s like-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

I felt hurt at his tone. My heart tightened around itself as I stared down into my lap. I think he noticed my grip around his hand had loosened a bit.

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. I’m just...not ready.”

“That’s okay. I’m sorry if you felt like I was trying to force you, I shouldn’t have asked twice. You obviously don’t want to do this right now.”

He yawned once more. Feeling a thought arrive that made me smirk, I removed my hand from his. He looked confused until I put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close. With a boyish smile, he leaned his head against my shoulder and I leaned my head on his. At some point, sleep found us as we used each other for support the rest of the ride home.

 

We were awakened by Sam and Abigail a few minutes before arriving, and we sleepily brought everything to Sam’s house, making sure to be quiet so as not to awaken Jodi or Vincent. Of course, this meant Sam dropped a drum case just as were finishing with the gear. We moaned out vague ‘good nights’ and wandered off to our respective homes.


	19. Chapter 19

A few days had passed since the gig. I slept in a little bit that particular morning. The Fall crops had been sprouting nicely, and the artichokes and yams would likely be done in a few more days. The pumpkins had little vines burgeoning from the soil; they were getting ready to start growing the actual gourds soon.

I was sat out on the front porch with a cup of tea after a long morning of watering crops and chopping wood. I didn’t have any reason to go into town that I could think of, but I also wasn’t in the mood to enter the mines or fish. It was a little chilly out, and it was Friday so I had a feeling tonight was going to be a Saloon night. I figured, if we were going to be hanging out anyways, I may as well bring Sebastian’s book back and pick up the second in the series. I was looking forward to continuing the story.

 

I called Honey over and we entered the cabin so that I could change out of my farming jeans and put on my civilian clothes. Then, I packed the novel into my backpack and set out along the path to the Mountain road. As I approached the only house on the path, I heard the sound of metal scraping against metal. I rounded the building to find that the garage door, which I had never seen open as long as I had been in the valley, was agape.

The first thing I saw was a motorcycle, black and blue, propped on a stand in the opening of the garage. The next thing I noticed was a pair of legs clad in black jeans dangling off the side from underneath the bike. I remembered Abigail telling me about Sebastian’s bike; it was like his baby. I worried about surprising Seb and giving him a scare, but he must have heard me coming because he glanced out from under the bike.

“Oh, hey Andie.”

“Hey, Seb. I like your bike.”

“Oh yeah, I guess I haven’t shown it to you before,” he smiled up at it proudly.

“Nope. It’s a pretty one though. Do you ride it often? I’ve never seen you on it. Obviously, I didn’t even know it existed. Well, that’s a lie actually, Abigail mentioned it to me, but I had kinda forgotten.” He chuckled and crawled back under the bike.

“Yeah, I ride it fairly often. Sometimes, after sundown, I make the long ride out of Stardew Valley. There’s nothing else quite like blazing along the empty stretch of road toward the faint city glow… When I do go to the city, I’m going on my bike, just the two of us.”

“Wow. That must be a nice, night drive.”

“It’s relaxing, and somehow invigorating at the same time. That probably sounds weird, but-”

“No, not at all. I understand what you mean.”

He went quiet for a moment before creeping back forward again, out from under the motorcycle.

“There we go, oil’s changed.” He stood up and grabbed a dirty towelette that was sat over a toolbox on the seat and wiped the grease off his hands.

“Got a little something on your cheek there,” I said, pointing to the same area on my own cheek. He scrubbed that area quickly, wiping away the dark smudge, before standing back with me and gazing over his bike with admiration.

“That is a fucking cool bike.”

“You like it? Hey, maybe I’ll let you ride sometime,” he smirked with a tilt of his head.

“I’d really like that, but I’d be kinda scared to be honest.”

“It’s okay, you could hold on to me, nice ‘n’ close.” I giggled the girlish giggle I had for some reason picked up while around him.

“Could I drive it?”

“No way!”

“Aww, why not? I think I’d be a good biker. I’ll wear my leather jacket and a, I dunno, a-a bandana or something. I think I’d look cool.” He chuckled.

“Maybe, I’ll think about it.”

“Yes, think about it. Me, on your bike, leather jacket on… and nothing else. Just the jacket,” I joked, giggling and winking.

“You nerd. What brought you over here anyway?”

“Ready for the next book,” I said, pulling the first one out from my bag.

“Sure thing. Let’s go inside.”

He led me down to his room, past Robin at her counter, whom I waved to, and past Demetrius and Maru who were working in the lab. I waved to Maru but Demetrius didn’t notice, too engrossed in his work.

Downstairs, Sebastian put the one I’d returned back into its spot on his shelf and pulled out the second one, handing it to me.

“Thanks, Seb.”

“Took you long enough to read it.”

“Been kinda busy with the farm. Also, I’m just bad at making time to read,” I revealed, rubbing the back of my neck.

“I get it. I get busy with coding too.”

“Yeah, I bet.” I flipped through the book for a second, before a thought crossed my mind. “Hey, how long have you had the bike? It must have cost some money.”

“I wouldn’t know. My dad left it when he left. I don’t know why he didn’t take it with him. Maybe it was too much baggage.”

I knew I was probably hitting at a deeply rooted issue for Sebastian and decided to tread lightly.

“I never hear you talk about him. He must have left a long time ago. I mean, at least as long as Maru’s been alive, probably a fair bit longer.”

“Mhm,” he hummed, taking a seat on his couch and leaning his head back on the head. “I don’t even really remember him, to be honest.”

I thought cautiously as I took a seat next to him. His hand was laid delicately next to his thigh, and I couldn’t help but take it to hold and gently rub my thumb along the back of his palm. He exhaled deeply, with a phlegmy cough to follow. Smoking must have been catching up to him.

“He left when I was about two or three. Mom hadn’t even built this house yet; she built it after she married Demetrius and wanted to make a woodshop for herself and a lab for him to work in. Dad- He was just kinda there one day, and another day he was gone. I’ve only ever seen a couple pictures of him, but mom doesn’t really like showing those around. They must hold terrible memories… Mom doesn’t like to talk about him much, but apparently he left because couldn’t stand living in Pelican Town. See, she says he blamed her for getting him stuck in a nowhere town with a dead-end job. Mom never said this part, but I think by stuck he meant… because of me. Mom wanted to have me, which would kinda give him an obligation to her. Obviously, that didn’t work ‘cause he fucked off anyway.”

I continued to gently stroke the soft skin of his hand - his cold, delicate little pianist hand, which had developed its unfortunate trademark shake as he spoke. I leaned my head onto his shoulder and laid my other hand onto his chest in a sort of sideways hug, caressing the soft fabric of his black hoodie.

“I’m sorry. He doesn’t deserve you and Robin. You and your mom, you’re good people, Seb.”

“And I know that’s true, but… I dunno, it probably sounds dumb but… I’m still curious, you know? I kind of want to meet him. I’m sure I’d be disappointed, and the bar is already as low as it can be so that’s saying something, but… I dunno. That curiosity will always kinda be there. Is that pathetic?”

“No. I think that’s fair. Who wouldn’t be curious?”

He slipped his hand out of mine and put it around my back, pulling me even closer into him. Every breath I took was an intoxicating whiff of his scent, tobacco and lightly of engine grease. We sat like that for a moment: him massaging my back with a slight shake in his hand, and me rubbing his chest over his hoodie.

“Thanks for listening.”

“Of course, Seb. Besides, it would’ve looked pretty rude if I’d just walked away while you were talking.”

“Shut up,” he chuckled, pushing me away playfully.

“You were getting all emotional on me, what else was I supposed to do, man?” I laughed, recovering from the shove and sitting up on my haunches.

“You listened, and you didn’t judge. That’s all you needed to do.”

“Well, I’m glad I could be of service.”

He ran his hands through his hair, pulling his long fringe back and, for a moment, I could see his face - his whole face - clearly, in its entirety. He released a deep sigh, and smiled. I found myself watching him intently, exploring his dark eyes and his pale lips.

“Anyone ever tell you, you have a cute smile?” He snorted at that.

“Only mom. Everyone else in Pelican Town would probably be too afraid of me to say that. Also, it’d be weird for almost anyone else to say that.”

“Maybe they’ve just never seen you smile before.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.” I think he realized how that sounded as his face went pink, from his cheeks back into the tips of his elf-like ears.

“I know what you mean. Before I came here, I couldn’t have told you the last time I smiled, like, genuinely. Since I’ve come here though, I’ve been finding more and more reasons to smile. It all felt so pointless back then - everything, my life,” I said, before really realizing where I was going with this.

Sebastian looked over at me worriedly, his jaw slightly agape.

“You’ve told me something personal about yourself, so I’ll let you know something about me, Seb: every day before work at Joja, I used to take the train. I’d be in my office clothes, all plain and boring, and I’d take the escalator up onto the raised train platform. I’d stand on the platform, and nearly every single day, as the train arrived at the station, I would stare down at the tracks and just wonder… what if? What if I jumped? Would it even matter?”

“Of course it would. Your parents, and now that you’re here pretty much everyone in Pelican Town cares and would miss having you around.”

“And logically I know that, but still… I didn’t feel like it, you know? I didn’t feel like anything I did- like my life mattered. But now, I feel differently. And I don’t know what exactly changed, but… I want my life so badly now. My chickens need me, the town relies on my produce more and more as I learn to make better products, Honey needs me, and I never would have joined a band that makes music that I love playing, and… I never would have met you.”

He turned to face me, still on my knees, and brought a leg up onto the couch.

“I had no idea…” he mumbled.

“You couldn’t have known. But anyways, I guess why I’m saying this is… if you can give me a reason to smile, I want to make you smile too. And if you feel the way I think you do about me, then I want you to know that I feel the same way about you.”

His half-lidded eyes studied me for a moment which felt like an eternity. When had I gotten so brave? I guess I got lost in the moment. Briefly, I felt a tinge of anxiety, wondering if I’d misinterpreted what he wanted out of our relationship, if he was looking for something more casual. I was redeemed, however, when he leaned in slowly and laid a soft kiss against my lips.

He remained gentle with me, letting it last only a short amount of time before pulling back and gazing at me in awe, and I’m sure I was looking at him in much the same way. Dopamine and oxytocin were just flooding my brain, warming every limb, every fingertip and toe. I couldn’t help it, I wanted more of him.

I threw my arms around him, pulling him in close so our lips could meet again. He melted into it immediately, bringing his hands up around my waist, following the curve of my body. The embrace quickly became passionate and forceful. He laid me down on the couch, holding my back and letting me recline, and leaned over me to continue the kiss. His hot breaths flowing over my lips as he slid a hand under my shirt to rest on my bare stomach. My hands were rested along the curve from his back to his backside. I slipped one of my hands into the back pocket of his jeans, holding him into me, entwining us together.

As the impassioned caress went on for what I hoped would be forever, that was not destined to be the case.

I heard the vague sound of footsteps from beyond the room, but it was like I heard nothing at all - nothing outside of this moment mattered. Until, the door to Sebastian’s room opened.

“Sebastian? Your mother could use help with dinner- Oh.”

We broke apart and moved to opposite sides of the couch quickly as possible, but it was quite clear Demetrius had seen enough.

“Y-yeah, Demetrius, I’ll be up in a minute,” Seb mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Make it quick.” With that, he slammed the door shut and we were alone once again.

I found myself releasing a sigh, beginning a string of deep breaths as I caught up with myself after that kiss. I could hear his breathing as well, more strained than mine from his smoker’s lungs. We caught eyes, resulting in a giggle from me and earning a chuckle from him as well.

“Of course it had to be Demetrius,” I huffed between breaths.

“I’m gonna be hearing about this later. I’m sure in some way or another, he’ll find a way to have a problem with this.”

“Well, I guess you have to go work on dinner. I should head home. See you at the Saloon later?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah.”

I picked up my bag, double-checked that the book was inside, and headed for the door.

“Hey, Andie?”

Halfway through the doorway, I paused to turn to him. His pale skin was highlighted heavily by pink and red, still flush from getting that little bit hot and heavy.

“Yes, Seb?”

“I… Nothing, never mind. See you at the Saloon.” I gave him a look to let him know I was curious about what he wanted to say before replying,

“Alright. See you later.”

 

After taking a detour to the secret woods to do some songwriting, I headed over to the Stardrop Saloon to find the other three already there. Sebastian and Sam were already in an intense game of pool, and Abigail was part way through a level of Journey of the Prairie King. They were in the middle of a conversation which halted as I entered the side room of the Saloon.

“About time!” Abigail yelled over her shoulder.

“I’m here, aren’t I? Besides, I’m late because I was working on songs for  _ our _ band, so you’re welcome,” I joked. “What were we talking about? Don’t let me stop you.”

“Honestly, I’ve already forgotten. Or maybe we’re keeping a secret from you,” Abigail winked.

“How dare you keep secrets from your lead singer. If it weren’t for Sam, I’d pretty much become the default leader of the band,” I said, continuing the banter. “No secrets!”

“Well, I’m the leader of the band right now, and I say… I mean, I also forgot what we were talking about, so I dunno, maybe some secrets? I’m not sure,” Sam said, pointing his thumb at his own chest before faltering as he realized he didn’t know where to take the discussion.

“Oh my god, Seb, you told them we made out, didn’t you?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. What else could they have been acting this secretively about?

“YOU MADE OUT, WHAT?!” Sam cried, spitting beer all over his chin and the front of his shirt.

“You two did what now?!” Abigail freaked over the sound of her Journey of the Prairie King character dying. Now that the game was over she turned to us.

“They didn’t know until you told them, just now,” Sebastian muttered through gritted teeth.

“We… I mean, no, we didn’t. That’s why I was asking, because if Seb said that… it would be a lie.”

“Too late to backtrack! You two made out,” Sam said, liked a little kid calling no take-backs. “We know the truth!”

“Fuck. Andie…” Sebastian turned to look at me, leaning against his poolstick standing on the ground.

“Sorry, I thought that’s what you guys were talking about.”

Sebastian hung his head, holding his temples with his free arm while, in the background, rung a chorus of ‘ _ Seb and Andie sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G _ .’

“You guys are so childish. Fuck off.”

Abigail and Sam went into hysterical giggle fits.

I could only grin awkwardly at Sebastian, hoping he could find a way to forgive me for this.


	20. Chapter 20

Soon, the Stardew Valley Fair came around. I spent the week focused on gathering my best produce and artisan goods to be judged alongside Pierre, Marnie, and Willy’s products. I knew they would be good competition, and though I was never a highly competitive person, if all I had to do was bring the items, set up the display, and let it be judged, then that didn’t sound so bad.

 

When the day came, I went into town that morning to set up my grange display. Marnie was already there, setting up a giant wheel of cheese, some eggs, and cloth made from the wool of her sheep. I had some pumpkins to set up, some of my favourite gems from the mines, and the first bottles of wine from my keg which hadn’t been taste tested yet but looked nice sitting beside the pumpkins, like a bouquet of Fall items. When Pierre arrived, he set up a lush display of produce, overflowing with kale, blueberries, pumpkins, and potatoes.

“Wow. Your fruits and vegetables look so healthy,” I gushed, not even ashamed to admit that they looked much plumper, and shinier than mine.

“Thanks! It’s this new fertilizer I’ve been using. I’m selling it in the store if you want to try it out on your crops,” Pierre winked, clearly proud of his work.

“They’re incredible.”

“Okay, okay, can we just play some games now?” Abigail interrupted, joining us beside the displays.

“Sure! That sounds like fun. Are you staying around here to watch the displays?” I asked, turning to Pierre and Caroline.

“Yes! We’re just going to wait for Mayor Lewis to judge them. Go ahead!”

“Thank you!”

 

Abigail challenged me to every game in the Fair: slingshot, fishing, a strength test, and even a wheel to spin. I had beat Abigail at most of the games. Even though she loved gaming, her coordination wasn’t very precise, but we had fun playing so we were having a great day. Once we had beat all the games, and had gotten balloon hats from the clown, I decided to play the wheel and bet every Star Token I had won on orange. I lost everything.

“Everyone knows, you gotta bet on green. The arrow is weighted to land on green most of the time,” Abigail whispered to me, before placing a bet on green.

The volunteer from Zuzu City spun the wheel, proving Abigail’s information true as the wheel indeed landed on green.

“We have a winner!” the man said, handing Abigail double her tokens.

“Yay!” Abigail squealed.

“Wow! What do you do when you have enough Star Tokens?” I asked her as we walked away from the wheel and back up towards the grange displays. We noticed Mayor Lewis was starting to perform his duty as a judge.

“First, let’s see how your display did,” she said, taking my wrist and yanking me over to the area.

Mayor Lewis was writing down some notes in a tiny notebook, standing in front of Willy’s display, the last one in the row. As he came back the other way, he noticed I had returned to the display.

“Ah, there you are Farmer Andie! I’m about to announce the results. Come on over!”

Pierre, Caroline, Marnie and Willy, as well as Abigail and I of course, wandered back over near the booth where Star Tokens could be cashed in. I had a feeling we’d be going there next. Once we were all gathered around, the other townspeople joined as well after noticing the crowd.

“In first place…” Mayor Lewis called, pausing for a moment to create a dramatic effect.

“Andie, Andie, Andie,” Abigail began cheering under her breath.

“Fuck off,” I jokingly said, shoving her shoulder. She giggled and pushed me back.

“Pierre!”

Everyone applauded politely, and I congratulated him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Congrats, Pierre!”

“Yeah, great job, Dad!”

Mayor Lewis seemed to be attempting to regain the attention of the crowd.

“Indeed, congratulations Pierre! Now, in second place… Our newest and youngest farmer, Andie!”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you! Go Andie!” Abigail said, shoving me towards Mayor Lewis to grab my prize of Star Tokens.

“Thank you, Mayor. This means a lot.”

“You deserve it, Andie. I know Summer didn’t work out so well, but your Fall crops are making a brilliant recovery. Go get yourself something nice with the tokens.”

“Thanks!”

I took my tokens and wandered back to where I had left Abigail, only she was ready to turn in the tokens so she led me over to the booth, where we could still hear the rest of the rankings.

“What should we get? If we put our tokens together, we could get a stardrop and share it!” Abigail noticed as she glanced over the prizes sitting in a glass display case, and some posed behind the marchant on shelves.

“What’s a stardrop?”

“They’re supposed to be a very special fruit that’ll make you stronger or something. Maybe you’ll be able to get to the end of the mines after eating some.”

“How does that work?” I laughed.

“I don’t know, but it’s worth trying.”

“Alright, let’s do it. One stardrop, please.” We put down all of our tokens and the merchant counted them loosely before taking a stardrop out of the display box and handing it to us. It was indeed a fruit, strangely bright purple with a couple of sea green leaves popping out the top.

Abigail broke it in two and handed me my half.

“Ready?”

“I guess so.”

“One, two, three,” and with that we both bit into them at the same time. It had a flavour all of its own, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but it reminded me a bit of egg nog on a cold Winter’s day, or maybe grandma’s tiramisu - something sweet that held memories of childhood.

“It tastes good at least,” I remarked, taking another bite.

“Yeah, wow. It’s really tasty actually. I always thought it would taste like medicine or something, since it’s supposed to be so great for you and all.”

We began wandering around the Fair, just to pass the time while we munched on our fruit. Down near the graveyard, we finally ran into Sebastian and Sam hanging out away from the crowd.

“Have you guys been hiding over here this whole time? We were looking for you,” I chuckled.

“Looked more like you guys were looking for all the games to play. I heard you won second place! That’s great,” Sam said, slapping me on the back.

“Nice hat, nerd,” Sebastian said, poking the head of my balloon hat, which was shaped like a giraffe.

“Hey!” I whined, grabbing at the hat to stop its wobble.

“Is that a stardrop?”

“Yep. It’s really good. Have you ever had one?”

“Nah. They’re pretty rare. I’ve never been able to get enough tokens to buy one. All the games are rigged”

“Well, we managed to pool our money together to get one. Want to try some?” I held it to him, offering a bite. He shook his head.

“That’s okay. You enjoy it.”

“Alrighty,” I responded, taking another big bite of the fruit.

We turned back to Abigail and Sam to see them watching us intently, observing our chemistry or some such thing.

“Okay, show’s over,” Seb said, pulling a cigarette out of a pack and lighting it up.

“You guys wanna go see the psychic?” Abigail asked, finishing the last bite of her stardrop.

“Come on, really? Welwick? That woman is crazy,” Sam said.

“You know I believe in psychics, Sam. How is what she does any different from any magic I do? Or the wizard for that matter?”

“We’ve never seen the wizard performing any magic, to be fair. Have I seen you do any?”

“I’m not going to try and convince you, but I did help us summon a spirit to name our band. Well, I’m going to see her. Andie? Seb? What about you two?”

“I’ll pass,” Sebastian replied, exhaling a puff of smoke.

“I guess I’ll come. Why not?” I shrugged, finishing off my stardrop as well.

Together, we wandered into the graveyard where the psychic’s hut sat. The wizard was close by, sharing in a conversation with Welwick, each having a hearty laugh. As we entered the graveyard, Haley was just leaving, brushing by with a healthy pink glow on her cheeks.

“Hey, Haley! Did you just see the psychic?” I asked her, before she could get too far out of earshot.

“Oh, it’s you Farmer Andie. You’re all filthy, did you know that?” she said, a sound of disgust in her voice, which I had come to believe was unintentional. I think she honestly didn’t realize how mean she sounded sometimes. I had come to ignore her tone for the most part.

“Heh, I know. Things get dirty on the farm, what can ya do?”

“Right… Anyways, yes, I just saw Welwick. She told me something…interesting,” she said with a giggle and a throw of her curly blonde locks.

“That sounds cool. Abby and I are about to see her.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Good luck, I guess.”

“Thanks, Haley.” I appreciated her attempts at kindness. I turned back to Abigail, who had her arms crossed as she waited for me to finish talking to Haley. Once Haley was out of earshot, Abigail uncrossed her arms and we headed over to the two magic users.

“Hello,” Abigail said, shyly, holding one of her arms to her body.

“Ah, young Abigail. You’ve come to have your fortune read? And you as well, Farmer Andie?” the wizard questioned, holding a graceful arm out towards us.

“Yep! Here for my yearly report,” Abigail said with a chuckle. I was reminded briefly about Sam’s theory that the wizard was Abigail’s father as I watched them interact.

“Yes. We haven’t really met before, I didn’t know you knew my name,” I replied to the wizard.

“I have my ways of getting information.”

“Magic?”

“Well, yes, but also I speak to Linus from time to time and he’s told me about you moving onto the farm,” the wizard admitted with a chuckled. I laughed awkwardly in response. “You may call me Rasmodius, young farmer. Abigail? Would you like to visit Welwick first? Don’t worry, I’ll keep Andie company.”

“Sure thing, Rasmodius. See you in a minute, Andie!”

“Come in, dear,” Welwick crooned, beckoning Abigail over. She was a small, hunched over figure. It was hard to make out her features from where I stood. I’d get a better look once It was time for my reading.

Once Abigail entered the small tent, she was told to close the curtains and so she obliged. The privacy of the reading was set. I turned back to Rasmodius, whose purple beard and hair flowed gently in the cool Fall breeze. His dark robes adorned in various gemstones and strange silver symbols and runes.

“So, you must know Welwick really well,” I commented, shifting my weight in an attempt to get comfortable.

“Indeed. We’ve known each other for a very long time. She is a remarkable diviner, and a good friend. Have you encountered much magic during your time in the Valley?”

“Aside from the monsters in the mines? I don’t believe so. I did help Abigail use a spirit board, but, I dunno, most psychologists say that spirit boards don’t work, and it’s just you or your group moving it without realizing you’re doing it.”

“Hmpf. Indeed, spirit boards are sold as toys for children. This isn’t to mean that they cannot work, however. I believe young Abigail has the gift. She likely did summon a spirit to commune with. I can sense it in her.”

“Yeah, you think so? I don’t really claim to know about this stuff. Abigail did say that her hair has stayed purple for a long time now without her dyeing it. Like, for years.”

“She also turned your hair green, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Oh, yeah.” I instinctively started touching a piece of my hair, since redyed an indigo colour, and rolling it around my fingers. “Did Linus tell you about that too?”

“Actually, no, that really was magic. I sensed it that day.” He smiled, his kind eyes softening from under his wizard hat. “You know, magic can also be learned if you ever were interested. There is actually something I could use help with. If you are indeed interested, that is. It won’t teach you magic, but it would really help the town.”

“What is it? I would like to help out,” I said, thinking back to my desire to help out the town in some way, to do more for everyone in the same way they had gone out of their way for me.

“If you come by my tower one day, I will explain the task to you. For now, however, I’m sure Abigail will be finished her reading any second.”

Surely enough, the curtain of the tent opened and Abigail exited with a wide smile on her face.

“How’d it go?”

“I’ll tell you about it later. First, you go do yours,” she said, taking my place beside Rasmodius and pushing my shoulders in the direction of the tent.

“Okay, okay,” I laughed.

“Enter, young farmer, and close the curtain behind you,” I heard the small, hunched figure beckon from under her blue robes.

I did as she asked, entering the tent and pulling the curtains together behind me. The tent was filled with the scent of incense, perhaps sandalwood, and the walls were covered in tapestries, strange golden artifacts, gemstones, crystals, and various divination tools. The one in front of her at that moment was a ball made of some type of clear quartz.

I took a seat in the velvet upholstered chair opposite her at the table. I finally had a good look at Welwick. Her face was so ancient, beautiful in its own way with its deep creases. Her eyes were blank, irises almost white. She seemed to be blind.

“Ah, yes, my crystal ball is swirling with visions of your future, young one. Andie, correct? You’re the young farmer, you moved here from a large metropolitan area after finding life empty, and pointless?”

“Yes. That… that’s me.”

“You found what you came here for. You’re not sure if your happiness will last, however. Something that brings you pleasure and happiness here threatens to leave you behind.”

I felt the blood leave my face, a slight wave of nausea hit my stomach. I knew exactly what she was talking about, I just didn’t expect her to be so accurate.

“Fear not, young farmer, for life goes on. It’s dark, but I think I see the source of your happiness in my mind. A young man with dark hair and pale skin. His desires are not up to you, but it is up to you to find what will make you happy.”

“What if I can’t find anything else that makes me as happy as he does?”

“You’ve seen a lot in the city, young farmer, but life is not as bleak as it seems. If it is meant to be, he will stay. You have the power to make him, if you should so choose to use it, but I have a feeling you won’t.”

“Well, I want him to be happy too.”

“It is up to him to discover his own happiness. I cannot tell you if he will return to you or not, but I will say that possibility does exist. And, I will say… you are both young, still. You both have many years of happiness to come, no matter how that happiness comes about. It will come.”

“I guess that makes me feel better.”

“The crystal ball has gone dim. I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can say for now. Remember that the future is not set in stone. I wish you luck in your search for happiness, young one. I’m sure you’ll feel better once you leave the tent.”

“Okay. Thank you, Welwick. It was nice to meet you.”

“As with you, young farmer. Farewell.”

I exited the tent, feeling my knees wanting to buckle below me. Welwick’s words swirled around my mind, becoming one big word vomit that I was left to mull over. Would Sebastian leave me? If he did, what would make me happy once he’s gone? Is there anyone else who would understand me like he could in this town?

“Hey, Andie. How’d your reading go?”

My gaze flowed up to follow Sebastian’s voice. The sight of him brought a small bubble of joy to my chest. It took my mind a second to rejoin the world happening around me. Abigail and Sam were standing nearby too, but the wizard was gone. He must have stepped out for a moment.

“It was fine,” I muttered before I could even think.

“You don’t look so hot. Are you sure?” Abigail asked.

“I’m fine, just…small spaces. Made me a little claustrophobic.”

“Wanna head to the beach for a few minutes? Get some air and then come back.” Sam suggested.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

We headed south to the beach. Abigail and Sam tried to involve me in a hunt for seashells, but I just wasn’t in the mood. I didn’t want to ruin their fun, however, so I told them I wanted a moment alone and headed out onto the pier and sat down. I wasn’t sure if Sebastian would follow me or not, but he did and I was okay with that. He sat down beside me, on my right, and took my hand in both of his, gently massaging it.

He looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to speak or not, and honestly I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk or not either.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” he finally asked.

“I… I don’t know.”

I wish I could say I was stuck in some deep thought or worry, but mostly I was disassociating. My brain could hear Welwick’s voice from time to time, but mostly it was blank, just like television fuzz. His touch slowly bringing me back, but I still wasn’t fully there.

“You’re gonna leave one day, aren’t you Seb? You’re gonna go to the city. That’s what you want.”

“Maybe. That doesn’t mean I’m leaving you, though.”

“Our destinies aren’t meant to intwine forever, are they? Why do I always do this to myself. I get my hopes up, I keep thinking this is it, this is how my life is meant to be. This is happiness. And each time, I’ve been wrong.” I was immediately frustrated with myself for speaking. Would he think I was trying to guilt trip him? I really wasn’t, I just wanted to vent and I trusted him.

I burst into tears, pulling my knees up to my chest and sobbing into them. Why did I make life so hard for myself? Sam and Abigail were so happy-go-lucky, why couldn’t I figure it out?

“Hey, hey, look at me. Andie, look at me. Please…”

I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I was embarrassed, if I’m honest. He was always so stoic, so aloof, and I was an emotional wreck.

“Andie?” Now his hands were around my shoulders. I forced myself to look up at him, from under my bangs and through the blur of tears. His dark eyes seemed full of remorse, or maybe fear. “I…I hope you don’t think that I want to hurt you, because that’s the last thing that I want.”

I turned to watch our reflections dancing along the ocean waves.

“Logically, I know that. B-But, you know me now, my emotions w-won’t let me feel that it’s true,” I stuttered through sniffles and hyperventilations. “I j-just want you to b-be happy.”

“And I want you to be happy too. If I ever went to the city, we’d… we’d figure it out, okay. I promise you. We’ll talk every day on the phone, or video chat, visit every weekend, or maybe… and I know you probably won’t want to do this, but… you could come with me, if you wanted.”

“I don’t know, Seb. I like it here in Pelican Town, I like the people and being close to nature, and it’s not too crowded…”

“I know you do. Look, I don’t know what the answer is yet, but we’ll figure it out, okay? Together.” I took in a deep breath, attempting to regain control of the hyperventilations. 

“Okay, Seb. I trust you. I need to keep telling myself that; I do trust you. I really do.”

“We’ll figure it out when the time comes. Okay?”

“Okay, Seb,” I sniffled, meeting his eyes again. His dark eyes probing mine, trying to find a glimpse of happiness peeking through. I felt a smile poking in, urged on by his glare as he hoped I was okay. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay.”

“Okay.”

He nudged closer to me and put his hands around my waist before pressing his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, thin but strong and sturdy. He pulled away before coming into the kiss again, leaning his forehead against mine, his breaths gently exiting his nostrils and tickling my lips. He left a gentle suckle on my lips before pulling away.

“Sam and Abby are watching, aren’t they?” he mumbled grumpily, his eyes still closed. I glanced over to the shore to see Sam, on his knees from searching for shells in the sand, stopped in his tracks while staring at us with his jaw agape, and Abigail standing over him, with much the same face of surprise.

“Eh, let them,” I said, wiping some of the wetness from my tears off my face before going in for another kiss. I didn’t let it last too long before pulling away. I knew Sebastian wasn’t super fond of public affection in any form, so I didn’t want to make him too uncomfortable.

“We always end up leaving part way through festivals, don’t we?” he smirked.

“Just two introverts, I guess. Always needing breaks from social events.”

“Yeah. That sounds like us.”

I giggled and leaned into him, my forehead against his. His arm slinked across my back to hold my left shoulder in a gentle squeeze.

“Spirit’s Eve is in a couple weeks. What drama can we create to leave that early, I wonder,” he huffed.

“Don’t even jinx it like that. I just wanna have a nice, drama free festival for once. I’m gonna get a costume, we’ll eat some candy and everything will be fine.”

“A likely story.”

“Shut up,” I said, playfully punching him the shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, just like you said.”


	21. Chapter 21

Sam informed us of another gig we were to play in the city, but before we could do that, I had decided to take the wizard up on his offer. A few days after the fair, I stopped by his tower after spending a morning in the secret woods.

I knocked upon the the large wooden door, which had vines growing around the planks and moss covering it. The seconds it took for the door to open left me anxious. When it moved, it opened slowly and no one was on the other side, as if it was opened by-

“Young Farmer Andie,” I heard Rasmodius call from inside the dark room.

I entered to find it was actually well lit by candles, but it was bright enough outside that my eyes needed time to adjust. Slowly though, the room brightened up.

“Hello Rasmodius. I’m here to talk about the task you wanted help with.”

“Indeed. Come, come over to the cauldron.”

As I approached the center of the room, I took notice of my surroundings: a spot on with a large red insignia painted on the ground, surrounded by white candles, shelves and shelves of books with leather spines, an altar, and the giant cauldron that the wizard stood in front of, which seemed to be emitting a strange green glow from inside.

“What is this?” I asked him, leaning over the cauldron to have a glance. It was a beautiful colour, different natural shades of green all swirling together, and it smelled of pine and fresh rainwater.

“All in due time. So, Andie, you have passed the old community centre in town many times I’m sure, yes?”

“Oh, of course. It’s broken down, has been for years. Mayor Lewis told me he’d like it rebuilt, but Joja wants to turn it into a warehouse. He’s been fighting the Joja company since.”

“There is more to this story, however,” Rasmodius crooned. With a flick of his cape, he was suddenly over by the book shelves in the back of the room, and was suddenly back by the cauldron. He had grabbed a book in one swift motion, and now set it down on a stand beside the large pot and was flipping through it, looking for something. “Aha! Here, do you see this illustration?”

I took a look at the large, purple covered book. The pages were discoloured, but still completely legible and well cared for. The page he showed me was titled  _ Junimos _ and showed a picture of a small creature with an apple-like body, a small antenna, and thin little arms and legs.

“What is it? What’s a junimo?”

“A junimo is a small creature of the forest. They have made a home inside the community centre for the years since it’s been out of commission. The reason why I have asked you to help me is because the junimos would be willing to help restore the centre, but they require the assistance of a human and for some reason, they refuse to speak with me about what they want. You, Andie, have access to things I never will, believe it or not. Access to things the junimos want.”

“Well, what do they want?”

“They desire bundles of similar items to be collected and handed to them. You are the only person in town who has access, and the skill to obtain, the items from the mines, the ocean, farm and ranch products. You are the only one in town with access to all these items who seems open enough to magic for me to trust.”

“Abigail is open to magic,” I contested.

“She cannot fish, she cannot enter the mines and fight, and she cannot obtain items such as eggs, or milk. You, however, are likely already planning or have a barn, you have learned to fight in the mines, and you have learned to fish. You possess virtually all the skills required to make the junimos happy.”

“So… I just have to go in, ask them what they want and then bring it to them?”

“Exactly. This potion will allow you to commune with them, and make your job easier, should you agree. I believe that is all I can tell you for now. The junimos will also help guide you through. Will you do this?”

I took in a deep breath, realizing my fists were clenched. I forced myself to relax my hands. It sounded like a rather large task, but it was manageable. How many items could these small creatures want, after all?

“Yes. I’ll do it. I really want to give back to the town. Everyone’s been so good to me.”

“Marvelous! Come, come. It is time to drink from the potion. First, I will show you the scroll they have left, to show you why this potion is important.” He pulled out a yellowed paper from his pocket. On it was written a strange language, unlike any I had ever seen before, but to the wizard it seemed to make sense. “ _ We, the Junimo, are happy to aid you. In return, we ask for gifts of the valley. If you are one with the forest, then you will see the true nature of this scroll.” _

With that, he placed the scroll on his stand beside the large book.

“So you see, this potion will imbue you with the element of the forest. You will be able to read, and hear their language. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Come closer, child.” I took a step toward the cauldron again, the smell tickling my nose. “This potion is bubbling with ingredients from the forest: baby fern, moss grub, caramel-top toadstool… Can you smell it?”

“It smells like the forest after a Spring rain.”

“Here, have a drink and let the essence of the forest permeate your body.” As he said it, he ladled a healthy amount of the drink into a dark, ceramic cup.

I took it in my hands. As lovely as it smelled, it didn’t sound like something I should be ingesting. I had no reason to distrust the wizard, however. I took a deep breath and guzzled down the whole drink without breathing, lest I taste the substance. At first, everything seemed normal. I turned to the wizard who was eyeing me cautiously.

“Do you feel alright?”

“I think so.”

But even as I said it, I realized something was not quite right. The green fumes emanating from the cauldron began to cover my eyes in a haze, weaving through my consciousness like some hallucinogenic drug.

“Are there mushrooms in here or something?” I mumbled from behind the window of green.

“No, that is the magic, the essence of the forest mixing with your own essence.”

Through the green haze, leaves began falling around me, as if I was outside one one of these fall days, only the leaves were alive. They surrounded me, falling at my feet in a beautiful spiral pattern. My vision began to wobble in and out of focus.

And just as it began, it was over. My vision returned to me, I was back in the wizard’s tower and everything seemed normal.

“Wow. That’s weird.”

“You have now gained the power of forest magic. Here, look,” he said, holding the scroll he read from earlier to my face.

I glanced over it only, now it appeared to be written in plain English.

“How is this possible?” I asked aloud, remembering the strange characters written all over the page only minutes before.

“Magic,” the wizard breathed, waving a hand in the air. “Now that you have the forest essence within you, you may go visit the junimos any time and discover what it is they want. Bring them the items, and they will repair the community centre, as well as other things around town.”

“Okay. I will, Rasmodius. I’ll update you on my progress soon.”

“That would be lovely. Goodbye, young farmer.”

And before I could even finish saying goodbye, he had vanished from the spot in a flash of his cape waving, and then nothing.

 

I left Rasmodius’s tower feeling purposeful. It was time to head to band practice, however. I headed over, still feeling a fuzziness in my head from the strange but short trip I had experienced. I arrived to find I wasn’t the last one there. Sebastian hadn’t arrived yet. Sam and Abigail, however, were tuning up and seemed happy to see me.

“Hey guys,” I said, closing the door behind me.

“Hey Andie! Write anything new we can work on today?” Sam asked, looking up from his tuner.

“Actually, yeah. Here, have a look.” I removed my notebook from my bag and showed it to Sam. Abigail came over to check it out as well.

“Where’s Seb, by they way? I thought he would have come with you, since you two are…  _ dating _ !” She said ‘dating’ in a childish, sing-song voice in an attempt to tease me.

“I haven’t spoken to him yet today. Probably just Demetrius making him do chores before he leaves,” I replied, acting as though I hadn’t heard Abigail’s previous comment.

“Yeah, probably,” Sam said, playing through the chords of the song I handed to him.

We played through a few songs, keyboardless, to get warmed up and start up practice, but still no Sebastian. About twenty minutes had passed with just the three of us practicing.

“Where on Earth is that boy?” Abigail asked, finishing up the drum part to the song.

“Maybe something’s wrong?” Sam suggested.

I realized I had been biting my lip since the last line of the song, finicking with my fingers, when we heard a sound from the other room.

“Ah, I’m sorry Jodi! I didn’t mean to run into you!”

“Oh, it’s fine Sebastian. They’ve been waiting for you, go on in.”

The door then opened.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” a sweaty Sebastian cried as he entered the door.

“It’s fine, Seb! Where were you?” Sam asked.

“I slept in and forgot I had a deadline today, so I had to finish up some code quickly and send it in. It was for a pretty big gaming company actually, so I couldn’t risk messing anything up with them. Sorry, it was kinda important.”

“It’s fine, Seb,” Abigail said. “It sure sounds important! Maybe they’ll want you to join their company full time.”

I realized I was smiling at Sebastian. His face pulled into a smile as well upon seeing me, awaiting his arrival.

“I’m glad you got your work done, Seb,” I said. He took one of my hands and gave it a quick squeeze. It was a small gesture of affection, more his style, that wouldn’t be as noticed by Sam or Abigail. He let go as he took his spot behind the keyboard.

 

Once practice was over, I decided to make an offer I had been considering for a while.

“So, there was something I wanted to bring up with you guys. I just renovated my house again, courtesy of Robin of course, and I was thinking if we wanted we could move practices over there. That way we wouldn’t have to bother Jodi or Vincent, and also we could practice any time of the day without being heard by the rest of the town. I’m gonna move my living room into a new room that Robin built, and we can turn the entrance room into a kinda family room, slash band practice room.”

“For real?! That would be awesome Andie! We could move stuff there right now, if that’s okay,” Sam said, excitedly.

“Yeah, that’d be fine. Everyone else good with that?”

“Yeah, I don’t see a reason why not. It sounds perfect, actually! We could set up a permanent space, and it won’t be as cramped as Sam’s room,” Abigail added.

“Cool! My place it is then. Yeah, I might set up some band posters or something, to get the vibe just right. Well, let’s pack everything up then.”

 

We packed up all our gear and got to moving it, just like we had when we went to play our first show in the city. Our second one was coming up in a few days, so we’d have another couple practices at the farm house before the show. As we removed the gear from Sam’s room, Jodi looked over at us in confusion.

“Where are you four going?” she asked, looking up from a magazine with a beautiful image of Fall baked goods on the cover, including sweet potato pie and pumpkin loaf.

“Andie has a practice space we can use over at the farm. We’re gonna move everything there, that way when we practice it won’t have to bother you or Vincent.”

“Oh, well thanks Sam, honey, for thinking about us,” she laughed. “Andie, it’s you I should be thanking.”

“It’s fine, Jodi. I know our practices have been pretty disruptive for you,” I said, huffing while holding a few of Abigail’s drum cases in my arms. “We’ll get these out of here. See ya!”

After saying goodbye, we brought the stuff over to my place and started setting everything up in the large open room. Honey was happy to have so many people petting her and giving her attention; she was prancing around the living room, tail wagging like crazy.

“Well, that should be everything,” Abigail said from behind her drum kit as she finished shifting the drums into a position she was happy with.

“Yeah, that looks about right. You guys wanna do anything else today? I’ve got no plans for later,” Sam asked, turning from his amplifier to face the rest of the group.

“If you guys want, you can stay for dinner and then we can watch a movie or play some video games or something.”

“I have Solarian Chronicles with me,” Sebastian said, pulling the box of cards from his pocket. “Sam was talking about playing later, so I brought them with me.”

“That sounds like fun! You don’t have to make us dinner though, Andie. We could get food at the saloon or something instead,” Abigail suggested.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve got all these yams I decided to keep and now I need to cook them. Granny Evelyn also gave me some leftover turkey, so all we really have to do is cook the yams, make some gravy and heat up the turkey. I might also have some potatoes, and I could make some mashed potatoes. Besides, you guys could help. It would go faster that way.”

“I don’t know anything about cooking,” Sam said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

“I’ll walk you through it. How about, Abigail, you help me with the mashed potatoes. Sam, you start slicing the yams, and Seb you can start on the gravy,” I explained as I began removing pots, pans and knives and placing them at various stations around the kitchen before setting the oven to preheat.

I first showed Sebastian how to take some broth and explained how to thicken it with flour mixed with water, then made the rounds to Sam while Sebastian waited for the water to boil. I handed Sam a peeler and set him to start peeling the yams, showing him how it worked before handing it off to him. Then, I returned to Abigail.

Abigail and I started peeling the potatoes, which didn’t last long before Sebastian told me the water was boiling and I instructed him to slowly pour in the flour mixture and stir it with a whisk. Then I was quickly called over to show Sam how thick to cut the yams, and back to Abigail to help finish peeling the potatoes and start chopping them.

 

I kept making the rounds like this until the yams were in the oven, the gravy was cooked, and the potatoes were mashed. All that was left was to wait for the yams to cook. We started an old horror movie from the ‘70s, and I told them I’d take care of the food from then on.

When the yams were cooked, I made sure everything else was warm including the turkey Evelyn had gifted me, and started making plates for everyone and brought them over to the living room, setting them down on the coffee table in front of everyone.

“You are a fucking goddess, Andie,” Abigail said, as I placed a plate full of delicious food in front of her.

“No problem,” I whispered, so as not to interrupt the movie.

“Yoba, bless you Andie.”

“Of course, Sam.”

“Thanks, Andie,” Sebastian said, planting a quick kiss on my cheek. I gave him a peck to tell him ‘you’re welcome’ and then sat down with my own plate to join the rest.

We watched the movie, and I cleaned up all the plates when we were done eating. I left them in the sink to clean later, and returned to the couch beside Sebastian, who let me lean on his shoulder as we watched the film.


	22. Chapter 22

Once it was over, everyone was too tired to play Solarian Chronicles. Abigail and Sam left, but Sebastian decided to stay to help me clean up.

“Thanks again for making dinner,” he said, pushing up the sleeves of his hoodie as he walked up to the sink, where I had already started washing dishes.

“No problem. I thought it would be something nice to do for you guys. Did you like the movie? I’ve never seen that one before.”

“Yeah? It’s one of my favourites. I love the part where the killer has them trapped in the bathroom and you think this must be it, they’re gonna die now.” His shoulder brushed against mine as he took the washed dishes and started drying them with a kitchen towel I had left sitting nearby.

“And then they crawl out through the window, because it would have been too obvious if they died then,” I bantered on. “Thank  _ you _ for helping out with dinner, and with cleaning up,” I laughed.

He smiled down at me, his boyish little smile, so pure and sweet.

“Have you decided what you’re going to dress as for Spirit’s Eve yet?” he asked, putting a dry pan over to the side of the sink.

“Maybe. It’s a surprise though. You’ll have to wait until the night of. Do you know what you’re going to dress as?” I asked, nudging his shoulder.

“Maybe. But if you’re not telling then I won’t either.”

“Damn. My own game, backfiring on me.”

He chuckled soundlessly.

Once all the dishes were washed and put away, an idea sprung to mind.

“Hey, wanna smoke a bowl?” I asked him with a wink as I ran over to my room to grab my prized glass bong. I didn’t bring it out often, but I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to let it make an appearance. I grabbed my stash with me on my way out to the living room, where I sat it down on the dining table.

Sebastian taking it into his hands, seemed impressed at the glasswork of it which had swirls of blue and purple woven into the base in a gradient of colour followed it up the stem until it was clear at the mouthpiece.

“Oh wow, this is beautiful. Must have cost a pretty penny.”

“It was worth it. I only really bring it out for special occasions since, nothing can really beat the discretion of a classic joint. But it was so beautiful, I couldn’t not buy it. Besides, it’s not like I never use it.”

I grabbed my stash and started grinding a couple buds, and he put the bong back down on the table.

“If you wanna grab a quick cig, this’ll just take a minute.”

“I think I will, actually. Be right back,” he said, grabbing a cigarette from his pack that was in the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie. “Can I borrow a lighter? I forgot mine.”

I handed him mine, smirking as I did at which he returned an awkward grin.

“Don’t take too long. Or I will start without you,” I joked.

“I’ve got your lighter,” he quipped back, holding it up in his hand.

“I have many lighters, for I am no amateur, you nerd.”

“Alright, I won’t be long,” he chuckled.

“Take Honey out for a pee while you’re out there.”

He called her name and let her outside before he followed and closed the door behind them.

I continued grinding up the dried plant matter and filled the first bowl so it would be ready to go when Sebastian returned. I started grinding some more up, in case we decided on a second bowl. Once that was taken care of, I filled the base with cold water and tried to decide what we would do while high. I looked through some movies on my favourite streaming service, but nothing really felt right.

I turned the television off, and turned back to the instruments sitting in my family room. I had never really gotten a chance to try out the drums. I saw this as my opportunity to give them a quick try.

I sat down behind the large set, giving some of the toms a tap, testing out the pedals: kick, hi-hat, kick, hi-hat, kick, hi-hat, snare. The sound of the snare drum rolling off could be felt in my chest, and every thump of the kick drum felt like it was kick-starting my own heart. I could see what Abigail liked about playing the drums.

Just then, Sebastian reentered the house, shaking off the cool night air as he did.

“It’s chilly out there,” he told me, as he rubbed his hands together to warm them. “Trying out the drums?”

“Yeah. I never have before. They’re cool, but they’re not really for me,” I explained as I set the drumsticks back down and lifted a leg from over the seat.

“Well, shall we?” He held my lighter back towards me as I approached the table.

“My pleasure,” I said, taking the lighter.

 

We brought the bong back over to the couch and sat down in front of a cooking show I had left on. I lit the bowl and took the first massive hit off the thing. Once the chamber was cleared, I held the smoke in my lungs in a practiced kind of way while I handed it over to Sebastian. He didn’t take his hit just yet though, he was watching me finish mine first. His eyes followed me with that investigative glare. I was about to speak, but when the smoke came back up it hit my throat the wrong way, starting a massive coughing fit.

“I thought you’d be better at this by now,” Sebastian laughed, pressing his mouth to the piece and lighting the bowl for himself.

“I told you I didn’t use it often,” I said between coughs. “You were just giving me that look, you ruined my focus.”

He released a massive cloud of smoke in an effortless fashion, only coughing a couple small fits that lasted no time at all.

“That’s how it’s done…” he said proudly, before pausing and turning to me. “What look was I giving you?”

“You know, the one you always give me. The one where it’s like… you’re looking right through me.”

I took another hit, of a more modest size this time. No point in showing off, it would just result in another coughing fit.

“I guess I just have one of those faces,” he joked, leaning his head on his arm, which was itself leaning on the back of the couch. I exhaled as I spoke,

“You have a cute face. I like that look. It makes me feel noticed, in an appreciative way. I’m not really used to that, I guess.”

“Hmm, that’s funny. I was gonna tell you the same thing,” he said as he took the bong back, using the lighter to push the ashed up weed around the bowl, searching for any remaining green. Once he found some, he lit the bowl and took its last hit.

“Really? What do you feel when I look at you? I’m curious?” I said, mimicking his earlier pose, leaning my head onto my arm as well. He smirked with his eyes as he finished the hit and cleared the bong.

“Hmm,” he hummed, before exhaling another puff of smoke towards the television set. “I feel… like those big brown eyes just… see these good things in me, even when I don’t see them myself. They get me everytime.”

“Here, I’ll pack another bowl. Tell me more about my eyes,” I said, fluttering them before leaning over the coffee table, where I had moved all my stuff, and started filling the bowl anew. I could feel the weed starting to affect me. The outer edges of my vision seemed out of focus, even wobbly, and I could feel the familiar sense of euphoria filling me up.

“They make me feel… happy in a way that I haven’t been in years. Maybe not since I was a child. Ever since I… grew up, I guess… I just see all this bad, this darkness within me. I feel like there’s more to me than being a grumpy ol’ loner since I met you. You’re so… you’re cute,” he settled on. I could tell it was hitting him too by now in the way that he spoke. I giggled aloud, hard enough that I felt myself lean back in my seat.

“No, you’re cute,” I said, pretending to give him a punch to the cheek. “You’re so handsome. I don’t know if you hear that enough but, like, it’s so true. You’re a good looking guy, Seb,” I drawled.

“You’re too good for me. What do you wanna do now?”

“Smoke more,” I said, giggling before taking a hit from the new bowl.

“Oh man, I dunno if I can,” he said, rubbing his eyes. I exhaled my hit.

“Up to you, I would never force you. You do what makes you feel good, man.”

“Well, maybe just a bit more.” He took another hit.

“Ugh. I’ve really wanted to go check out the hot springs. I haven’t had a chance to do that yet. I bet it’s really steamy and… hot in there.”

“Heh. We can go there. I haven’t gone in  _ years _ ,” he said, elongating the word ‘years’ for emphasis.

“Yeah, let’s do it! That sounds romantic,” I said, the idea exciting my hazy mind. “Let’s go, right now!”

“Do you wanna put a swimsuit on first?”

“Oh yeah, guess I gotta, huh? One sec.”

I entered my room and struggled to get my sports bra off, wiggling until it it let go of my skin. Then I put on my favourite swimsuit out of the two that I owned: it had a classic, fifties silhouette which worked well with my pudgy figure and gave me a great shape. I looked at myself in the mirror for a second, realized I was looking kinda cute, and put my clothes back on over top with that confident glow still warming me.

I exited the room to see Sebastian taking one last hit, finishing off the bowl, and placing it back on the coffee table.

“Why was I putting a swimsuit on again?” I asked him, trying to think of reasons we’d be going swimming at this hour. It was extremely dark outside. I checked the clock; it was around eleven o’clock.

“Uh… the hot springs,” he said, exhaling the smoke as he spoke.

“Right! Let’s go to your place now to get your swimsuit.”

 

We exited the house, I double checked that Honey was inside the house because even stoned I did not want to do something stupid like leave her outside the house, and then we walked along the mountain path to get to Seb’s house.

The whole time we held hands, then we would giggle, then shush each other because it was late and we were approaching the house, and then we’d giggle again. The house seemed to be asleep. We sneaked through Robin’s workshop to get downstairs to the basement bedroom. Once down there, we flicked the light on and Sebastian started shuffling through his drawer for his swimming trunks.

“Turn around,” he told me once he found them.

“Okay, but in movies the characters always peek, and I bet you look cute naked.”

“Hey, I bet you do too, but that’s not fair.”

“Okay, okay.”

With that, I turned around to face the wall. Meanwhile, I examined all the posters taped to the wall. They seemed to come alive just a little bit, wobbling about with my focus while those in the center of my vision seemed to be crystal clear. Some were of video game characters, some were for movies, or television shows, and a couple were even of graphic novels. Many of them were for things that I also enjoyed, and some I had never heard of but thought they seemed interesting.

“Okay, I’m ready, let’s go.”

I turned around and Sebastian had his clothes back on, as if they had never been off. With a smile, I gave him a quick peck. He didn’t close his glazed over eyes at all, not expecting the kiss.

“Good thing everyone’s asleep; your eyes are all red and watery,” I giggled. “Let’s go!”

And we were out the door, taking the Northern path to the train tracks. The train station was entirely empty and quiet, some rocks and branches were scattered around the ground here and there, but otherwise it was quiet. We headed into the building which housed the hot springs and were faced with two doors, one for men and one for women.

“Ooh, which one should we go in?” I asked. “Boys!”

“It’s nothing special. Probably just has sweaty forgotten gym socks, or boxers hanging around. Sorry to burst your bubble.”

“Eh, I don’t think I expected much anyways. Girls then? I promise it’s nothing special either.”

“A’ight.”

I took him by the hand and we entered the changeroom. I found a locker with my lucky number, seven, and put my backpack in it before I started stripping my clothes off. I piled them into the locker and then turned to Sebastian, who was facing the locker beside mine. He pulled his hoodie off, then a black t shirt, and then his black jeans and, wouldn’t you know it, his swim shorts were also black.

“Of course your shorts are black,” I laughed.

“Are there any other colours?” he joked.

With that, we entered the hot springs. The room was steamed up in a perpetual wall-to-wall hotbox of vapour. I dipped my foot into the water and instantly felt my insides warm in a comforting way.

“Oh, it is the perfect temperature,” I moaned as I stepped down the steps into the huge steaming pool, crouching down to let the water wash over my shoulders. “This is so… lovely.” He followed by my side, not saying a word but his face told me how he felt: he too was enjoying the water, about as much as I was.

After feeling around, I discovered the outer edge of the pool had a step to sit on. I slipped onto the seat and then melted into it so that the water hugged the back of my neck soothingly. I released another soft moan.

“Yoba, you need to stop making those sounds.”

“Why? The water feels so good, I need to make sure you know,” I said. He laughed at that.

“Don’t worry, I know. It does feel nice.”

“What, are my noises too sexual? Should I moan quieter?”

“No, I think that would just make it worse.”

“ _ It _ ?” I said, turning to look at him suggestively.

“Do you want me to spell it out for you?” he laughed.

“No, I get it. My voice… it turns you on, Seb? Doesn’t it?” I started saying it in breathless whispers, just to tease him a bit. “It makes you want me, doesn’t it?”

“You fucking nerd. You don’t need to try to be sexy. That weird porn voice is always awful in real life. It’s almost hilarious actually.”

“Do you find this funny, you skank?” I asked, him, continuing the breathy mid-coitus voice. He released a small giggle.

“Stop, oh my Yoba.”

“Stop what? This is just how I talk? What are you gonna do to me, Daddy? Spank me?” This just caused him to laugh even harder. “Or maybe you’d rather I spanked you? I could punish you for your sinful ways, for not fucking me hard enough.”

“Shut the fuck up,” he said, absolutely cackling. He swiped at the water, splashing a huge wave that broke over my head.

“Hey!” I cried, wiping some of the water away from my eyes but also giggling. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. It’s nice to see you laugh though. A real hearty laugh, not just breathing heavily through your nose.”

He had a mischievous smile on his face as he shook his head at me, as though he was disappointed in himself for taking the bait.

I sunk back into the water, letting it hug my shoulders again as I closed my eyes. I began to relax, struggling to feel where the water ended and I began.

“Hey, Andie?”

“Huh? What is it Seb?” I asked, opening my eyes quickly and turning to him. That mischievous smile still on his face.

“I think  _ it _ liked the voice.”

“Your erection betrays you. My voice does turn you on,” I said, doing the voice one last time. He bit his lips closed from the inside, trying to prevent himself from laughing. “Okay, I’ll stop for real now - I promise, swear to Yoba, no more.” I chuckled as I stopped.

He must have been glad for the misty water right about now, hiding his excitedness from me. A guy like him, who enjoyed maintaining an air of mystery around himself where others couldn’t know how he felt - his maleness must have felt like a curse at times.

Then, I thought about what it really meant though. Was I ready? Was I ready to get to know him like that? He knew about my inexperience, about how I had never dated, but did he take that to mean I had never had sex? He may very well have assumed that, living in the city, I had given it away at some point.

“Hey, Seb?”

“Yeah, what?” he said, looking over from his comfortable spot, head leaning back against the side of the pool so that his shoulders could also rest under the water.

“You… you know I’m a virgin, right?”

“I kinda assumed as much. You’ve never dated anyone, and you’re way too shy to have a one night stand. Nah, I think you would have needed to know them first.”

“You’d be correct there.”

“So, yeah, I kinda figured even if you didn’t say it directly.”

“You don’t wanna… you know… tonight, do you?” I asked, resting an arm on the side of the pool and resting my head on my arm.

He sat up in his seat before speaking.

“Why? Do you want to tonight?”

“I don’t know. Honestly, as much as I want to, I just hadn’t really thought much about it yet. Maybe it’s the newbie in me, but I feel like I’d have to mentally prepare myself or something.”

“That’s fair.”

I wondered if he was disappointed, if I’d teased him too much and gone too far. Then another thought came to mind.

“Hey, Seb?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you had sex?” He let out a deep exhale.

“Abigail told you we dated for a short while, right?” He sounded as if he’d wished it wasn’t brought up at all, but I guess he figured I at least deserved the truth.

“Yeah.”

“We tried a couple of times, kinda thinking that even though we didn’t have chemistry maybe it would… help the relationship or something, I dunno what we were thinking to be honest, we were teenagers and we weren’t thinking. It didn’t really work out well, anyway. I guess I’m not technically a virgin, but not exactly… experienced either. Sorry to disappoint, I know the guys are supposed to be the ones who kinda know what they’re doing or whatever-”

“No, not at all. If anything, the stereotype I heard is that guys will stick it in anything, so I don’t know if you need experience to do that,” I laughed.

“Well, I guess we could figure it out together. If that’s what you want, that is,” he said.

For a moment, all I could see was him and Abigail, awkward teenagers fumbling in his bed trying to figure out what feels good and how to move.

Jealousy. Why did I feel jealous? Him and Abby both made it so clear that it meant very little to them. Maybe it was my own relationship with sex that made me feel like it couldn’t have meant nothing, and that made me suspect they may have been lying. The logical side of my brain told me they wouldn’t lie about that, but emotionally I had a small crisis in that moment. The one thing I knew for certain was that I wanted Sebastian like that. I knew I wanted to experience it with him, and that he was the perfect person to be my first, and to be my every time afterwards.

Oh my Yoba… I loved him, didn’t I?

No. He’s my first boyfriend. How many people truly love their first? It’s too early to be jumping to conclusions like that… But I sure liked him a lot.

“It is. I really want that, I just don’t know when. Soon, maybe. If that’s good for you.”

“Of course.”

“Maybe Spirit’s Eve could be a romantic time for us,” I hinted. The baby goth in me had always loved all the dark imagery, and the child in me loved dressing up for the night.

“I love Spirit’s Eve too. The evenings are finally at Winter levels of darkness around then.”

“It’s a date then.”

“Sounds good,” he chuckled. “We’re also gonna be in Zuzu City for a gig before then. What should we do while we’re there?”

“We’ll figure something out. Maybe we’ll try to include Sam and Abby this time,” I laughed. He laughed too before leaning back into the water.

 

Some time had passed and I felt my mind fully restore itself from being healed by the springs.

“I’m not high anymore. You?”

“Nah. Let’s get outta here.”


	23. Chapter 23

We headed back through the changerooms to leave. I had brought clothes with me in my bag, but Sebastian hadn’t and so we headed to his place, far too tired to trek back to the farm anyways.

“I’ll take the couch,” he whispered, grabbing an extra blanket from the hallway closet on the way to his room.

“No, no, it’s fine. I can take the couch, I don’t mind. It’s your bed after all.”

“What? No, you’re the guest you take the bed.” We entered his room and he closed the door behind us.

“If Robin or Demetrius come in the room in the morning, they’ll probably think it’s less weird if I take the couch and you keep your bed.”

“Demetrius might. Mom will question why I made you take the couch.”  
“Demetrius is worst case scenario. Better we plan for that,” I suggested.

“I mean, I guess you’re right.”

“It’s fine. Your couch is really comfy,” I said, taking a seat and laying back against one arm of it.

“Alright. Don’t say I didn’t try,” he said, tossing the blanket at me.

“I would never.”

With that, he leaned over to give me a peck on my lips and headed over to his bed, removing his hoodie and pants.

“Close your eyes.”

“How do you even know I’m looking? It’s dark and you’re facing the other way.”

“Just saying it, just in case. Close them.”

“Okay.”

I closed my eyes and heard him shuffling to get his damp swim shorts off and a pair of underwear on.

“Alright, I’m changed.”

When I opened my eyes, I could barely make out the sight of his pale legs under his boxers, entering his bed, his arms turning his one small lamp off, which had been on since we came to pick up the swim shorts, and then pulling the comforter over his body. I pulled the flannel blanket he handed me over my own body as well and shifted into the couch trying to find a comfortable position.

For some time, I tossed and turned, but I just couldn’t get comfortable. Insomnia wasn’t uncommon for me, but it was never welcome. I finally bit the bullet and got up. I wandered over to Sebastian’s bed, trailing the blanket behind me.

“Seb? You awake?”

“Unh,” he groaned, indicating his awareness but not breaking his restfulness. “‘Sup?”

“Can’t sleep. Got room in there?”

“What about Demetrius?”

“Whatever, fuck him. I need sleep.”

“I like you. Alright, get in.”

He scooched over closer to the wall and I slid in beside him. My head sunk into his pillow comfortably, and his scent on the blankets and sheets soothed me mentally. I could feel him radiating warmth beside me. Without consciously thinking, I cuddled my head closer to him, finding the crook between his head and his shoulder and resting there. He leaned his head onto mine, making me feel acknowledged.

Once we were relaxed and snug, sleep found me fast.

 

I woke up with zero idea of what time it was. The lack of windows was something I was not used to, now that I was waking up with the sunrise. Before my eyes were even open and properly focused, I reached beside me as the memory of last night returned and I remembered where I was. After feeling around for a moment, I realized I was alone in the bed.

“Sebastian?”

“Over here,” I heard him call from the other side of the room.

I yanked myself up, propping my torso up on my tanned arms, and turned around. He was sitting in front of his computer, a cigarette hanging from his mouth and typing like a madman.

“Was it as good for you as it was for me?” I joked as I stretched my limbs before flipping off the blankets and swishing my feet to the side.

“That was some good dank. City stuff?” he asked, removing the cigarette from his mouth and typing with it poking out from his finger.

“Yeah. Still slowly working through the old stash.”

I hopped up and stretched a couple more times as I meandered over to where he sat in front of his desktop, throwing my arms around his neck and pressing my head against the side of his to watch him type.

“I doubt Robin or Demetrius would like you smoking in the house,” I commented, taking the cigarette from him and having a drag before handing it back.

“Well, like you said, fuck them.”

“No, I said fuck Demetrius. Robin is a sweet lady, and honestly I don’t think she asks much of you.”

“You’re starting to sound just like him.” He took a long slow inhale on the cig and then blew out the plume of smoke while altering some of the code in front of him.

“I promise, I don’t ever want to sound like him. But Robin is so kind and sweet, and I know you like your independence and you think she’s burdensome, but she just loves you. I can see it in her eyes.”

“I know,” he sighed.

I let my arms fall away from his neck and headed over the table where I had left my bag. I started looking for my phone.

“Get up to anything else yet this morning? Also, what time is it?”

“It’s eleven, and no. Maybe if we can, we’ll sneak up soon and I’ll pretend you came by just this morning. I would like to grab a coffee.”

“It’s eleven? Fuck, I need to go home. I need to check on Honey.”

“Alright. Let’s go then.” He snuffed out the cigarette butt into a small ashtray on his desk, finished typing up the line he was currently working on and then beckoned me to follow him up the stairs.

He walked through the door after holding a hand out, telling me to pause. Once he had checked out the surroundings, he beckoned me to follow again. We walked through the hallway to the kitchen where Robin was working on some kind of paperwork at the table.

“Hey you two! Andie, I didn’t know you were here. I didn’t hear the front door open.”

“Oh, yeah, I came by early to…” I had no idea what to say. I really had no good excuse. “Give Sebastian something.”

“Oh, a gift? What is it?”

“It was a… rock from the mines,” I said, scratching at my arm mindlessly.

“Oh. Really?” she asked skeptically. She stood up from the table and headed over to the cupboard where the cups were.

“Mom,” Sebastian said in a tone of warning.

“Would you like some tea, Andie?”

“No, I’m fine. I should head home, actually. I still have some farm work to do today.”

“Uh huh.”

During this exchange Sebastian was awkwardly making himself a cup of coffee and keeping an eye on his mom, who seemed highly suspicious.

“Okay, I’m gonna head out.” I wanted to give Sebastian a quick kiss, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t like me doing that in front of Robin. I was saved when Sebastian jumped in.

“I’ll walk you out,” he said, putting his coffee down on the counter and rounding the table.

We walked side by side, chastely, down the hallway to the carpenter shop.

“Jeez,” I remarked in a whisper once we were by the door.

“I think she suspects something,” Sebastian remarked.

“Does she know about us?”

“I don’t know what she knows.”

“You should tell her. Alright. Well, I’ll text you later. We’ll probably have a practice today.”

“Right. See you later,” he said, planting a kiss onto my lips.

It was meant to be a quick goodbye kiss, but lingered just a little too long in such a perfect way. I brought a hand up to his arm, still at his side, and held it softly, reassuringly. He pulled away, and I was about let my eyes drift open when the sound of a throat clearing took me by surprise.

My eyes popped open immediately and I turned to see Demetrius standing in the doorway, between Robin’s shop and his lab, hands at his hips and his foot tapping against the floor. His brows were furrowed in an annoyed look.

I turned back over to Sebastian, whose face looked mortified. I’d never seen his eyes so wide.

“You should go,” he said.

“Are you sure?” I whispered back.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Call me later.”

“Okay.”

As I left, I waited to hear Demetrius yell, or maybe for Sebastian to yell. I heard nothing as I walked away. They must have been waiting for me to be out of earshot.

I walked all the way back to the farm, hands in my jean pockets and my knees threatening to buckle beneath me. I tried to hold it together until I could get home and have a joint to offset it.

 

Once Honey was taken care of and the crops were watered, I decided it was time to head over to the Community Centre and meet these junimos. I grabbed some of my Fall crops with me, as a started offering. Hopefully it was what they were looking for.

I tried the door of the centre to find it had been left unlocked. It creaked loudly as it opened up into a large main room. As I walked into the center of the room, I could hear chimes ringing from somewhere in the building. There must have been a draft somewhere, and someone hung chimes near it for some reason.

“Weird,” I whispered aloud.

The floorboard were broken, missing in come areas, with tangles of vines growing out of them. On the far wall, a majestic brick fireplace was centered, on one side was a broken fish tank and on the other side was a strange hut made from branches and leaves. A hallway led from either side of the room.

I examined further to find a boiler room which had many exposed rusty pipes, some sort of office, and on the other side of the building a pantry, kitchen and a playroom which had old, broken toys littering the floor. I wandered back over to the main room, wondering if I had been duped by the wizard at this point. This place was empty.

I turned to face the door, but before I could make a single step I heard a small sound: a squeak. I spun around but saw nothing there. Figuring I must have been imagining it, I turned to leave only to find my path blocked by a small, green creature, round with an antenna like a granny smith apple. It was a lot like the one in the book Rasmodius showed me. At least I knew it wasn’t all a lie now.

“Hello. You must be a junimo,” I said, approaching it but feeling strange, like talking to a dog and expecting it to respond. And it did. Not in words, but I could hear it speak inside my head. What a strange sensation, to have a voice in my head I couldn’t control.

“We are the junimos. Are you the human who will help us help the town?”

“Yep. That’s me. My name’s Andie.”

I watched the creature bounce across the floor over to the hut.

“I will give you instructions on what to bring us,” it explained as it entered the small house.

I removed the crops I had brought in my bag and held them in my hands while I waited for the junimo to return. When it exited the hut, it had a scroll balanced on its head filled with writing: a list of items, some listed by season or by purpose.

I took the scroll from it and began examining it, while it looks curious about the items in hand.

“Are those for us?”

“Oh, yeah. Do you want these? I see them on the list here under Fall. I’ve got a yam, pumpkin, corn and an eggplant.”

“Those will do nicely! Thank you!”

It took the vegetables from me and entered its hut, only this time it closed the door and did not return. I was left alone in the quiet community centre again.

After glancing at the list again, I took my sign to leave and headed out the door. Abby, Seb and Sam would be over at my place for band practice soon and we had our second gig in the city in a couple days, so today would be gruelling. Not to mention I’d get to know how it went with Sebastian and Demetrius this morning.

 

Band practice lasted two hours longer than usual as we had been working on some new songs and trying to figure them out together. Part way through, Sebastian interrupted between a song change.

“Hey, um, I actually wrote a song which maybe we could try playing.”

“Y-yeah. That’d be great Seb! Let’s see it!” Sam said, jumping excitedly and trailing his guitar cord over to where Seb stood at his keyboard.

Sebastian placed a notebook on the stand of his keyboard and, with a huge breath, he began playing some chords for the song. They sounded nice together, a little dark and minor, but still really cool. He coughed awkwardly before he tried to sing the first line, but his voice cracked immediately and he gave up.

“Andie, could you-?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll sing,” I chuckled, joining him and Sam behind the keyboard. “Just give me the melody.”

He hummed as he played the chords again and I listened as he went through the first verse. Then, the second time around, I sang the words written. As I went along, I realized the song was about me, and about our time together last night. He must have written at least the words this very morning. And it was good. It was poetic, even.

When the song was over, I immediately gushed about my thoughts.

“This is awesome, Seb! You should be writing more of our songs,” I said, kissing his cheek. “It’s catchy too.”

“No PDA during band practice,” Sam chided.

“We’re not making out on the keyboard, relax Sam,” I joked. Sebastian ignored the discussion and pretended to be fiddling with some chords.

“You’re lucky I’m even okay with you two dating. This kinda thing can break up bands, ya know?” He then took a deep breath. “You’re lucky I think you two are so damn cute together,” he said, much more kindly.

“Well, to be fair we’re not… officially dating. Not yet. Not according to valley traditions, anyway,” I said, rubbing my arm awkwardly.

“Seb! You haven’t bought Andie a bouquet yet!?” Abigail cried, freaking out.

“Way to out me to my friends,” Sebastian joked with a serious undertone. I simply shrugged. He was desperate to change the topic of conversation, however. “What about you and Penny? I know you two have been seeing each other. When are you giving her a bouquet?”

Sam gasped, faking an outrage in his exaggerated fashion.

“This isn’t about me and Penny.”

“You’ve been seeing Penny? That’s so cute,” I commented, holding my hands together in front of my heart. “You should invite her to hang out with us!”

“Shut up,” Sam said defensively, still talking to Sebastian and practically ignoring my comment. “I’ve just been waiting for the right time.”

“And what do you think I’ve been doing?” Sebastian replied snidely.

“Boys, come on, you can argue about this over pool on Friday. We have a gig coming up, can we please just learn Sebastian’s song?” Abigail said, interrupting.

“You’re right, Abby,” Sam said, moving back to his usual spot on the right of our imagined stage, while Sebastian was on the left. Abby was behind, and I stood in front.

Sebastian read out the chords aloud for Sam to follow while I read the lyrics of the sheet along with them. Abigail played around, trying to find a complimentary drum beat. We worked on Sebastian’s song for the rest of the evening.

 

Once band practice was over, Sebastian hung around afterwards yet again to help me put away some glasses that we had used for water during practice.

“So, how’d it go with Demetrius this morning?” I finally got a chance to ask.

“How do you think?”

“He doesn’t approve of me.”

“No. But it shouldn’t matter, I’m an adult, I work and make my own money. It’s not good enough for him. He wants me to man up, to get a real job, something that pays enough to start a family. As if he knows what I want. As if programming doesn’t make money. It’s just that freelance is so on and off. If I worked full time for one company, I’d be making… maybe more money than him or mom.”

“He just doesn’t understand the job market we’re in right now.”

“I know he doesn’t. Can I tell you something, Andie? I don’t want to jinx it, but I think you deserve to know.”

He sounded a bit nervous.

“What is it, Seb? You can tell me anything.” I looked up at him from a cup I was washing. He shifted his weight, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I got an offer from the company my last big job was with.”

Internally, I felt myself freeze. This was it. It was happening. The thing I feared, the thing he needed. His happiness was what was important, I reminded myself. I realized I had stopped washing the current cup in my hand and returned to work, rinsing it off.

“That’s great, Seb! You should take it. That’ll really show Demetrius,” I laughed. It was such a fake laugh, even I didn’t believe it.

“I know you don’t like the idea of me moving to the city-”

“No, this isn’t about me. This is about you, Seb. If it’s what you want to do, then you have to go.” I handed the cup to him to dry.

“I haven’t said ‘yes’ yet.”

“You should get back to them quickly, just in case they’re looking to have someone join them soon.”

“I feel like you don’t want me to go.”

“No, I want you to go. I really do!”

He put the dry cup down, and put a hand on his hip, giving me a look of disbelief.

“I know, I know, I’m a bad liar or whatever, but I’m not lying this time. Not entirely.”

“Well, could you tell me which part is the truth?”

“No. Because it’s not important. You have to go. It’s your dream.”

“Okay, Andie.” He continued drying the dishes I handed him, but he said nothing more after that.

 

We spent the rest of the evening, acting like the conversation had never happened. We watched some horror movie on TV and made out a little bit, but the whole time I was talking to myself in my head, trying to decide if I should make him stay. Welwick said I could, and he seemed open to the idea of staying, but the larger conscience within me fought back harder. It was his dream, I reminded myself. Demetrius would hate me more than he already does if Sebastian gave up his career because of me. I had to let him go. No matter how much it would hurt.


	24. Chapter 24

A few days later, we were back in the city. After debating over something fun we could do while we were there, we agreed on a game of lazer tag which got particularly intense very quickly. We decided and Abby and I would play on a team against Sam and Sebastian. After a round where Sam and Sebastian won, Abigail and I were itching for a rematch and we decided to go in for a second round.

“You’ve never played lazer tag before? I don’t believe it,” I said, strapping back in to the vests and picking up the ol’ lazer gun again.

“You just can’t admit defeat,” Sam said, blowing a raspberry with his mouth. I blew one back as I clipped the final strap for the vest.

I approached Abigail and we began plotting a strategy, turning to observe Sam and Seb every once in a while, to see if we can get a hint at whatever they’re plotting.

Soon, we were let back into the dark room, with glowing paint and obstacles scattered around, and it was entirely lit in a blacklight rendering any pure white object a glowing indigo colour. Abigail and I split up; she explored the bottom level and I climbed to the top, crossing a rope suspension bridge to the other side of the giant room to an area with a bunch of mirrors and giant spongy stalagmites. I weaved around them, trying to keep an eye out for anyone.

I could faintly hear footsteps from somewhere around the area. I held my lazer gun up, in preparation to fire, as I rounded another huge stalagmite. They sounded close, but I couldn’t see a thing. Just as I turned around, I was tackled against the closest mirrored wall and familiar lips found their way around my own. My wide eyes could see the glowing blue whites of Sebastian’s mischievous ones, but everything else on him was entirely black. No wonder I couldn’t see him coming. His arms were on other side of me against the mirror, I noticed, as I melted into the kiss and let my eyes drift closed.

Then, all of a sudden, my lips were open to the air again. As I opened my eyes, the sound of a lazer hitting my vest could be heard and I could see Sebastian had his gun pointed directly at my chest.

“You fucking bastard,” I said, bringing my own gun back up and firing at him as he scrambled away. “That’s fucking cheating!” All I could hear was him snickering as he hid behind a wall. I think I got a shot in before he could hide, but he was faster than me and as I rounded the corner I found it empty.

“Fuck,” I said once more. Although, I had to admit, I couldn’t help but smile the cheesiest grin about that flirty little bastard of mine.

I heard more footsteps rounding the corner. I held my gun up, prepared to defend myself, but it turned out to just be Abigail. We both let out sighs of relief.

“I just saw Seb running away. I think I got him once.”

“I think I got him once too. But he also got me.”

“Alright. Let’s see if we can gang up on one of them.”

After a couple more run-ins, we managed to get in those few extra hits we needed and we ended up winning this round. We left the arena high fiving, proud we were able to redeem ourselves.

 

We got to the bar where the boys bought a round of drinks for us before we went on. We sipped them while we did our soundcheck and warm ups. This show was even better than our last one, and Sebastian’s song went over really well with the crowd too.

Afterwards, we were all tired from having such a long day and all fell asleep on the bus ride back home.

 

A few days later, however, we were getting ready for the Spirit’s Eve Festival that night. I was excited for my first Spirit’s Eve in the valley and Abigail had come over early to help me get ready.

“I love your witch costume! Very nice. It suits you,” I told her as I held the door open for her to enter the farm cabin.

“Thanks,” she chuckled, tilting her hat and posing in her black mini dress, which just kissed the tops of her thighs. “So, what have you got going on here?” she asked as she noticed the pieces of clothing scattered over my dining table.

I lifted a couple pieces of the red fabric and held them over my body to give her the idea.

“Santa Claus?” she guessed.

“Do I have to drag you to hell to help you get the idea?” I asked, jokingly trying to give her the hint. I grabbed the pair of horns sitting on the table and held them over my head.

“Oh! A she-devil or something.”

“Yeah, like a demon thing.” I eyed the silky fabric as I grabbed all the pieces of the costume and brought them into my room. “Time to put it on, I guess.”

Abigail followed me in and took a seat on my bed as I stripped down and started putting the dress part on, then a fake leather jacket for some aesthetic, then a tail and the horns.

“You look hot. Sebastian’s gonna love it,” Abigail said, as the outfit came to completion.

“Thanks, Abby. Wanna help me do my make up? I’m useless with eye shadow.”

“Of course.”

We headed into the bathroom, where my make up was spread out over the tile counter. I showed Abigail what I was thinking and she got to work, layering on a smoky red shadow look.

“So, speaking of Sebastian, he’s told you about the job offer I’m assuming, right?”

“Yep.” I released a deep sigh.

I had been trying to forget about it for the most part. It was one thing I did not want to think about tonight of all nights. Especially since Seb and I had sort of, kind of agreed tonight might be the night we sleep together for the first time. I just wanted to enjoy the festival and enjoy Sebastian’s company.

“Are you trying to get him to stay?”

“I mean, I don’t want him to stay if he wants to go. He’s wanted this for so long.”

“You’re not even fighting this?”

“Why would I? This is his dream. I don’t want him, or Demetrius, to one day down the line complain to me that I ruined Sebastian’s life, that I… didn’t let him live how he wanted to.”

“Andie, this isn’t about Demetrius so if that’s even a tiny factor in your decision on how to handle this, you can just toss that out,” Abigail said, moving away from my face and waving the make up brush in the air as she spoke.

“I still wouldn’t ask him to stay. It’ll make him happy. He has to at least try the city to see if he likes it there.” I looked at my one, half finished eye in the mirror before turning back to Abigail, who tilted her head at me in annoyance.

“Andie. Listen,” she said, tossing two locks of her purple hair over each shoulder. “I’ve known Sebastian for a long ass time. Like, since we were children. I can’t see him enjoying the city. Just honestly, I can’t. The grass is always greener, and all that. He thinks the city is the answer to all his problems, and it’s just not. You know why I know it’s not the answer to all his problems?” she asked, taking a good look at each of my eyes as she started on the base layer of my other one.

“Why is that?” I asked, knowing I wouldn’t take her advice anyway but wanting to respect her stance.

“I’ve seen him change over these past few seasons, for the better. All because of you. You’re good for him, you’re what makes him happy. Not the city, not a job that’ll pay a six figure salary, just you. I mean, and his motorcycle, obviously,” she laughed. “Demetrius doesn’t have to like it, but you make him so happy. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen him smile the way he does around you.”

As much as I enjoyed hearing that from her, from an outside perspective, it didn’t make me budge from my stance.

“I don’t know, Abby. I guess I just feel like… if he doesn’t go, he’ll always wonder what could have been. I want him to try it out, and decide for himself what works best for him. Maybe the city isn’t what he wants, but I also can’t see him living on the farm with me. I mean, he just doesn’t seem like a farm boy either. Isn’t that the other option at stake here? Because if so, that’s not such a great one for him either. Will he ever truly want a life with me if it has to be on the farm? Because the farm is what I want right now.”

“I see him living a life with you, and if you’re on the farm then he will be as well. You want a life with him, right? It sure seems like you two could be in it for the long run.”

“I mean, I certainly would be open to that, but not if it’s not what he wants. I want him to be happy, first and foremost. That’s what’s most important right now.”

“You really wanna do the whole if you love it, set it free thing, huh?”

“I don’t see another option.”

“You need to be happy too, Andie. You matter too, and I really think you’re underestimating his feelings for you.” She was back on my other eye, finishing the crease.

“What do you mean?” I asked, peering at her with my one open eye.

“I dunno. Whatever. I just hope that you don’t break each other’s hearts, I guess. I’ll stop talking about it. Sebastian said he really wanted tonight to be special for you.” 

I went quietly into thought for the next few minutes as Abigail finished my eyes. She let me do the eyeliner myself, upon my own request.

“I hope tonight is special for him, too,” I answered some time later. I think Abigail had probably forgotten what it was in response to, but she bantered on anyways.

“You two little goths, finding romance on the darkest, most emo day of the year,” she chuckled.

“You wanna smoke a bowl before heading out,” I asked, double checking that my eyeliner was even.

“Do I?!” she asked excitedly.

 

We arrived into the town’s square about an hour later, still slightly blazed and ready to see the spooky decorations. The square was surrounded by a hedge, set up specifically for tonight, and lit by jack-o-lanterns and tiki torches. The main attraction of the plaza was a large cage holding some skeletons from the mines. It had been set up by the Adventurer’s Guild, as evidenced by Marlon standing close by in his eyepatch and his mysterious cape as always.

Some tables covered in orange and purple coverings were set up for families to sit at, should they wish, and plastic bowls filled with candy were sat on top of each table. I could see Jas and Vincent, dressed as a ladybug and a puppy respectively, running from table to table, asking to look at the candy bowls for sweets they hadn’t found yet. Sam, dressed in grey plastic warrior armour like his character from Solarian Chronicles, seemed to be keeping an eye on his brother, following him at a distance and making sure he wouldn’t eat too much candy.

Abigail led me over to the table where her parents were sat and we politely greeted them, hoping our eyes weren’t still red.

“Abigail says she helped with your make up for tonight. Have you seen Sebastian, yet? I heard tonight is supposed to be special,” Caroline asked me, leaning her head into her hands sweetly. I wondered how much Abigail had told her about us.

“Not yet,” I admitted, glancing around again anxiously.

“It’s okay, mom. I’ll make sure Seb and Andie’s night is fantastic, if I have do it myself,” Abigail jumped in with a chuckle.

Robin, Demetrius and Maru were sat at a table nearby, but Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.

After some time listening to Abigail’s family chatting but not really involving myself, I decided to go say ‘hello’ to Sebastian’s family. Abigail followed me over.

“Hey Robin, Demetrius. Hey Maru,” I said, waving around the table.

“Andie, nice costume!” Robin said from under a wide brimmed witch’s hat.

“Thanks!”

“I like your hat, Robin,” Abigail said with a laugh.

“Thank you! We’re almost wearing the same one. That’s embarrassing,” she giggled.

“It’s okay, my mom helped me make this one. I refuse to have anything remotely similar to anything anybody else could be wearing.”

“I assume you’re looking for Sebastian?” Demetrius said, not sounding amused.

“Demetrius,” Robin scolded in a whisper.

“I just came over to say ‘hi,’ actually. Are you having a good Spirit’s Eve?” I asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

“I’ve already eaten way too much candy,” Maru said with a laugh, trying to change the subject from her father’s tone.

“I’m excited to dig in.”

“We should try the hedge maze first!” Abigail said, pointing towards the entrance.

“Yeah, I’ll come too! I’ve never been able to find the end,” Maru explained.

“There’s supposed to be a prize at the end, but no one’s been able to get there in years,” Abigail elaborated further.

“Well, let’s try it out then!” I agreed, turning to see the entrance at the left of Harvey’s clinic.

“Good luck, girls!” Robin called after as as we left. I noticed Demetrius holding the same scrutinizing look on his face as I turned away.

The three of us wandered over to the entrance and walked toward the first turn. After choosing a direction, we found ourselves in a hallway covered in fake hands making grabbing motions at us from the ground and the walls of the hedge. We squeezed through the path, avoiding the grabby hands as much as possible, which wasn’t too hard. I think I actually kicked one that was on the ground, knocking it over.

Soon, we passed a television playing static and found ourselves facing a room full of spiders, including one ginormous plastic spider.

“Nope, I can’t. I hate spiders,” Abigail said, backing away, crossing her arms over herself and shivering in fear.

“They’re not real, Abby. How are you ever gonna go in the mines if you can’t stand fake spiders?”

“I don’t care, I’m not going.”

“Alrighty then. It’s just Maru and me that are going to share the big prize,” I taunted with a shrug.

“I don’t care, I don’t do spiders. I’m out.” Abigail took a seat on the fountain from the last clearing, which the maze was built around.

I shrugged at Maru and we winded around the corner where the spiders sat to find another clearing where the playground was. Now, it was turned into a graveyard with headstones featuring the symbol of Yoba scattered around. As we made the walk, I realized I hadn’t ever had a good chance to speak to Maru. She seemed like a smart, ambitious girl. I would like to get to know her a bit.

“How’ve you been, Maru?”

“Eh, not bad. I’ve been taking the first semester of school off to work on some personal projects. I’ve been building some robots, and working for myself. And I’m still with Harvey at the clinic, for now.”

“That’s great! Are you gonna be living on campus when you start in the Spring, then?”

“Yeah. I have to. Otherwise, I’d rather live at home, but Zuzu University is too far away. I’ll still come back for weekends sometimes and for holidays though.”

“Your dad must be so proud. And Robin too, of course. You must go through a lot of materials then, always building things. If you need metals from the mines, don’t hesitate to ask,” I offered, as we rounded the playground space, checking the perimeter.

“That’s very nice of you Andie. I usually just buy them from Clint, but maybe I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Of course! I’m down there mining ore anyways.” While we were looking around the large space, a set of footsteps joined us. It was darker over here, and harder to find the next path let alone see who it was, but the spiky hair tipped me off.

“That you, Sam?”

“Yep! I just saw Abigail and came in here to check on you two,” he snickered.

“We don’t need any help, if that’s why you’re here. We’re getting along just fine,” Maru said with a laugh.

“I’m not gonna steal your thunder!” he said, holding his hands up innocently.

“Geez, have you seen Sebastian, Sam? He was nowhere to be seen in the town square, Maru and I have been through almost the whole maze and still haven’t seen him. We were supposed to hang out tonight.”

“He left home before us, so I haven’t seen him in a while,” Maru explained.

“Oh, uh, I saw him. For sure.”

“Really? Where?” I asked Sam interrogatively, approaching him.

“Well, I don’t know where he went. Let’s finish the maze first, we can find him after. We’re really close to the end, I think!” Sam said, making a small wink to Maru, which I caught though I’m sure I was supposed to. Normally I would have ignored it figuring it wasn’t my business, but something seemed off tonight.

“What’s going on here? What was that wink about?”

“Uh, nothing. Let’s keep going!” Maru said, marching on and searching the perimeter of the area.

I was slightly annoyed that they were blowing off my worries, but continued my search of the area along with them. Once we had gotten to the other side, a light could be seen leading into the next area. It was a warm candle light, perhaps from tiki torches or multiple jack-o-lanterns.

“Found it!” I called, turning back to Maru and Sam as I passed the entrance. They were both just looking at me, not moving to follow. “What? What is it?”

When I turned around to face the room, I saw that I was not the only one there. I looked down and directly into a lush bunch of flowers, mostly purple and blue ones, with some really rare looking black ones thrown in, very tropical looking, all tied together in a gorgeous bouquet. Though I didn’t need to question it, I moved my head to observe the hands and body attached to the bouquet and, there, down on one knee, was Sebastian holding a cheesy grin across his face, adorned by a pair of vampire fangs. He was sporting a black and red cape over a white dress shirt and slacks.

I was no longer aware of my movements, only an intense emotion welling up inside of me - some sort of warmth, some rush of hormones or chemicals that just made every inch of my body feel euphoric.

“Andie…” he started. “Do you want to get more serious?”

“Oh my Yoba,” I breathed out. “Seb… I didn’t think, tonight… Yoba!”

“So, is that a yes?”

“Yes! Of course!” I felt a giggle roll out of my mouth. He stood up to stand eye to eye with me. “And you can stop smiling like that, you look so uncomfortable.”

I threw my arms around his shoulders and he moved his around my waist, with the bouquet still in his hand, pulling each other into a passionate kiss. He pulled away for a moment and breathed out,

“Believe it or not, I can’t stop grinning now.”

I giggled as we embraced once more. As we pulled away, I left a gentle bite on his bottom lip.

“You little…demon?” he asked, glancing down at my costume. Coming in for one last kiss.  
“Yeah, something like that,” I managed to get in before his lips crushed themselves against mine. He pulled away to whisper in my ear,

“You look hot in that leather jacket. I’d love to see you wear it on my bike.”

“And you look good in that cape. I’d love to take it off you sometime.”

“That can be arranged,” he said, grabbing a cheek of my buttocks with his free hand, which caused me to cackle loudly.

“Sebastian!” I tried to yell, but laughed the whole way through.

Then we heard the sound of a clearing throat, reminding us of Sam and Maru’s presence. We turned to look over at them, where they were awkwardly standing around, shifting their weight and smiling stiffly.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Maru,” I said, finally taking the bouquet of flowers from Sebastian.

“Aren’t you gonna apologize to me?” Sam asked, making a goofy grin.

“Nah. Maru’s cool, and she’s related to Seb. You can go cry to Penny about it if it bothers you that much.”

Sam pouted, while Maru looked smug with herself, deservedly so.

“So, wanna get out of here? Eat some candy?” Sebastian asked, bringing my attention back to him.

“Get out of here? We’re almost at the end! We’re getting that prize.”

“Heh, alright. I haven’t found a way out of this room though. That’s why I chose this one to wait for you in, I knew you’d at least get this far,” he chuckled.

“Oh, I’m going even farther. Let’s have a look here.”

After checking out every inch of the small space, I finally found a spot of the hedge where the branches, though they seemed solid, were actually quite flimsy and moved when pushed out of the way. Maru and Sam joined us as we followed the next path into a cave, which was completely dark.

“Damn. We’re gonna have to feel the way, I guess,” I said look around just past the entrance. “Oh, wait!”

And just as I reached into my pocket for my lighter, I turned to see Sebastian had also pulled his out. We had a laugh as we flicked them on and followed the dim, still only slightly lit path, through the cliffside, until the four of us emerged on the other side facing another space with a chest sitting in the middle. Only, the floor seemed to be completely dark, like a large chasm decorated by glowing red eyes which popped up every once in a while.

“Woah! That’s some good special effects!” Maru commented, shifting her glasses as she examined the floor.

“Or magic,” I added.

I stuck a foot out to test if it truly was a pit or not, but surely enough it was just an effect placed over the flat ground and we were able to reach the chest. I figured they probably would not put something so dangerous into a maze meant mostly for children to solve.

Upon opening the chest, we saw that it contained a golden pumpkin. After some deliberating, I convinced Maru to take the pumpkin as she could sell it. I wanted to make sure she took it because I remembered what being a university student was like; you never had enough money. So, I made Sam agree with me via some aggressive negotiations and we handed the shiny, gold pumpkin to Maru to take home.

 

When we emerged from the maze holding the thing, Mayor Lewis came up to us to offer his congratulations as did many others who were around. Some also noticed me holding the bouquet of flowers and made their own remarks about it as well. I knew Mayor Lewis wasn’t really a fan of Sebastian - him and Sam had given him enough reasons not to be in their teenage years from what I understood - but even he commented on it.

“Oh, I’m glad to see you two are very happy together. Maybe there could be a mermaid pendant in your future, eh?”

Many comments were made about the potential for a mermaid pendant, and they all made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t really into the traditional side of marriages and, while I would totally respect it if Sebastian wanted that, I didn’t like the idea of it being forced at us the moment we made it known we were in a serious relationship. I guess I couldn’t blame them though. People like weddings, or really any excuse to get together and eat from a buffet and drink from an open bar. It was just the farthest thing from my mind right now.

 

Seb and I returned to the table where Robin and Demetrius were sat. Demetrius was congratulating Maru on finding the pumpkin, speaking as if she had done it entirely on her own and ignoring her interruptions where she attempted to explain that we worked together. Robin immediately ran over to Sebastian to pull him into a motherly hug.

“Sebby! I didn’t know you were getting Andie a bouquet! Oh, I’m so proud of you, you’re becoming a man.”

“Mom,” he groaned, annoyedly. I was off at the side, laughing my ass off at his annoyance.

Robin pulled away from him and whispered something I couldn’t make out. Sebastian replied with something else I couldn’t understand.

“Is everything alright?” I asked, approaching them.

“Yeah, everything’s fine, Andie.” He took my hand, and smiled at me.

Overall, the night had been a spectacular success, something else had been on my mind this whole time though that wouldn’t leave my thoughts.


	25. Chapter 25

The evening’s festivities went on, but bit by bit the town’s people were heading back home to get some rest for the night. Soon, Robin, Demetrius and Maru were ready to head back too and Sebastian ushered me to follow them back to their place.

I noticed Demetrius had an eye on me, a little bit paranoidly so. Sebastian and I were a few paces behind Robin and Demetrius, who were whispering to each other their own conversation. Demetrius kept looking back every once in a while. I made Sebastian aware of it too.

“He’s scared we’re gonna fuck in his lab and knock all his glass beakers to the ground,” Sebastian joked. I stifled a loud laugh between my fingers.

“You’re being really frisky today, you know that? I like it.”

He smirked over at me mischievously and I realized I was biting down hard on my lower lip.

“I think he’s scared we’re gonna get married and create a demon-vampire spawn, then leave him with it while we fly to some exotic location and enjoy the rest of our lives on a beach, surrounded by all the weed and tropical drinks we could want while he has to take care of the satan child,” I invented as we arrived at the house on Mountain Road.

Robin and Demetrius were heading inside, with Maru close behind them, but Sebastian made no move to follow them.

“So, why am I here?” I asked, turning to face him now and taking his other hand into mine, around the bouquet I tried to keep a hold on.

“I have a surprise for you. Do you wanna go leave the bouquet at home quickly. I’m sure Honey could use a bathroom break too.”

I squinted up at him, examining his pale features which made the vampire look even more believable.

“Okay. I’ll play along.”

“Take your time. Be back in… maybe, about twenty minutes? Wear something a little more comfortable than a dress. Keep the jacket though,” he suggested.

“Alright. Will do.”

He gave me a peck on the lips and I took off down the path back to the farm.

 

I hurried home, threw my jacket and the bouquet onto the dining table, let Honey out the door, and quickly changed out of my red dress and into a pair of black skinny jeans and a plain white t-shirt, then I threw my leather jacket back on. As I passed by a window, I briefly caught my reflection over the dark gloss covering the outside world and saw my striking red eyeshadow.

“Shit.”

I ran into the bathroom and tried to remove the eyeshadow without removing the eyeliner. After touching up the parts of the eyeliner that smudged, I then checked the time and called Honey back inside. She seemed really confused about my rushing around the house. I quickly reached under to my shirt to roll on a new layer of deodorant, and then ran out the door and jogged down the path back towards the mountain road.

 

As I neared the clearing, an unfamiliar sound could be heard. The sound of an engine growling to life before calming to a purr. I could hear a rev as I was greeted by the sight of Sebastian with his shiny blue and black motorcycle between his legs, a trail of smoke leaving the exhaust. He had that same mischievous smile on his face as he smirked up at me, noticing my arrival. So this was his plan for the deep, dark night of Spirit’s Eve.

The creep of fear and excitement crawled up through my heart, but the excitement was winning. I approached him, nodding along as I admired the sight of him on the bike.

“Looking good, nerd,” I chuckled.

“Are you ready to head out?”

“As ready as I’m gonna be.” I let out a deep exhale, trying to calm my shakiness.

“Hop on. I wanna show you something. Here’s a helmet for you. It’s my old one, but it should fit.”

I realized he had two in his hands as he handed one to me and we both began to buckle up.

I lifted a leg over the bike and tried to find a comfortable spot to sit down while holding on tightly to Sebastian, around his waist. I held myself as close to him as possible as I prepared for the ride to start.

“Scared?”

“A little.”

“It’ll be fine. You trust me, right? Just follow my lead.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

He revved the engine and soon we were driving around the long path, past my farm, to get to the road out of town. My hair was whipping around my neck, underneath the helmet, and my jacket was flapping in the wind as we roared down the long road through the countryside.

The moon was big in the sky, and the stars twinkled and looked alive. It felt like the stars were inside of me, somehow, as we rode on down the road past mountains and fields, forests and lakes.

It was hard to tell how far we had ridden, the motorcycle was a lot faster than, say, the bus, but by now I was quite sure we were on our way to the city. Why would he take us there? We had been there twice by now. My answer was on its way, I figured, as we finally pulled off the road and followed a path around a campsite. Soon, we came to a stop near what I realized was a huge cliff.

The engine came to a halt and Sebastian kicked open the bike’s stand. He lifted himself off the bike, before helping me off as well, and we both removed our helmets, leaving them on the seats.

He took my hand and walked me near the edge of the cliff, then took a seat a few feet away from it. I sat down with him, as I glared over the sight before us: it was Zuzu City, all its lights and its glory, in the distance surrounded by dark mountains, barely distinguishable from the black night sky where the stars were now drowned out by the glare from the city. It was beautiful, in its own way. But I preferred the stars.

“Well, that’s Zuzu City in the distance.”

“Yes, I can see that,” I laughed.

“This is where I come when I want to get away from everything and just… think.”

He pulled his pack of cigarettes out from his jacket pocket, pulled one out and lit it as he leaned the arm holding the cig on a pulled-up knee.

“So… what do you think? About this place?”

“It is nice here… it’s beautiful. But it makes me feel…sad, and strange.”

“Yeah, I guess it would. I don’t think I really expected anything else, but… I just wanted to show it to you. I never even brought Abigail here.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest as I watched the glow of the lights pulsate near the horizon. The smell of tobacco wandered over my nostrils, and for once in my life… it didn’t smell sweet. It smelled heavy, and it irritated my nostrils. I turned to watch him exhale another cloud of smoke.

“You ever think about quitting? The cigarettes, I mean.”

“You’re starting to sound like my mom,” he said with a laugh.

“It would be nice to get rid of that phlegm though, wouldn’t it? When you cough, it sounds like it really irritates you.”

He sighed as he looked down at the small cylindrical, burning object in his fingers.

“You’re right. I’m addicted to these things, it’s not good.”

Yet, he took another drag on it as he continued admiring the view of the city.

“I’ve been really happy in the valley lately, you know? Not as drawn into the city as I used to be. I feel more at home there, now. But, I think I’m still gonna take your advice. I accepted the job offer.” I nodded along as he spoke, trying to understand what he was saying. “I’ll go to the city for a while, I’ll work. I’ll see what it’s like. But I’m gonna be prepared to leave and come back at basically any moment.”

“So… the bouquet-”

“I will call you every single day, and we can video chat. I will do everything I can to make sure it feels like we’re still in the same city. I don’t want to let our relationship falter because of this, okay? I’ve never felt anything like I feel around you. I don’t want to lose you because of this.”

“Sebastian…” I started but faltered, not knowing what to say. He stamped his cigarette out on the ground beside him. I noticed a small pile near the side of the cliff, which must have been built from his previous visits.

“Maybe I should just stay. Why would I even leave now, I just gave you a bouquet and- Yoba, what am I doing?”

“No, you have to go, Seb. If you don’t go, you’ll always wonder ‘what if’. It’s a bouquet, not a mermaid pendant after all. You have to go, even if it’s just for a little while to see how it goes.”

He took out another cigarette, but instead of lighting it, he tapped it against his bouncing leg continually, deep in thought.

“Then come with me. We’ll leave together, live in an apartment together, maybe you can sing at the club again, and-”

“What? No, Seb, I can’t. I have Honey, and the other animals on the farm, and my parents are supposed to come visit for Winter Star, I just- I can’t.”

He signed pathetically.

“Okay. You’re right. I just thought I’d try.”

“And I appreciate it, really I do. I appreciate that whatever life you envision happens with me, together. I feel the same way. I’ve never felt as… seen, or understood as I do with you. The thought of losing that is…almost unbearable.”

He took my hand, letting the cigarette he had been fidgeting with fall to the side.

“It’s unbearable for me too, the thought that, if I went to the city, we might fall apart.”

“I can’t see that happening. I think about you all the time, and that won’t change while you’re gone. You already said you’d go, so go. You’re right, we’ll figure it out. I just worry too much.”

“Well, so do I. What if something happens and I’m miles away-”

“I’ll be fine. You might not even be gone that long. What could happen?”

He scratched the back of his head, seeming to be in thought, before he put the hand over my cheek and pulled me in for a kiss.

“Thank you,” he said in a breathy voice before continuing the kiss.

I shifted my body so that I was facing him, moving one of my hands to his knee and the other to the ground, to hold myself up. The longer we kissed, the more hurried and intense our breathing got. We found ourselves passionately reaching around each other’s bodies, trying to find the right place to grab hold.

Soon, I was on top of him, a hand on the gravel around either side of his head, as I continued leaving little kisses around his lips before moving down his jawline to his neck. I brought my hands to the bottom of his shirt, prepared to lift it over his head, when he stopped me there.

I was so ready to keep going, so aware of the tightness in his pants brushing against my stomach, and the euphoric glowing feeling around my own pelvis.

He had a hand on my shoulder, holding me up and away from his face.

“Let’s get home. We can continue this there,” he said, a playful smirk on his face.

I nodded and hummed a ‘yes’ breathlessly and climbed off of him.

 

We, rather impatiently, clicked our helmets back on and rode back out into the night. The whole ride back my body was just pulsating with anticipation, with readiness to accept him into me, and with desire to make him feel the same pleasure he could make me feel.

 

We entered the front door of my cabin on the farm after having just parked his motorcycle about five feet from the porch. As soon as we burst through the door, we were unable to keep our hands off of each other, kissing and grabbing at our clothes as we clumsily made our way to the bedroom.

I let my jacket fall onto the floor, and we parted briefly while keeping an intense glare going between us. I pulled my shirt off over my head and threw it to the ground, and he threw his jacket off as we came back together to kiss some more.

He led me over to the bed and pushed me down onto it before climbing on top of me. I helped him get his shirt off and tossed off the side. He started leaving small kisses up my stomach, making his way to my bra. Once it became in the way, I leaned forward to yank it off of me and let it fall to the ground as well, freeing my breasts from their daily prison. I was glad for the darkness in the room, and that neither of us had the sense to turn the lights on. The thought that I was even slightly naked made me a little self-conscious, but the passion overtook me and it no longer mattered.

Sebastian kissed his way up my torso, up my neck until he met my lips once more, suckling on my lower lip gently for a moment before returning down to my breasts, leaving titillating kisses around the most sensitive parts of it. I realized I had been moaning occasionally, so softly that I didn’t even notice I had been doing it.

He took a nipple in his mouth, attempting to make it stiffen for him, as he unbuttoned and pulled down my jeans. I held myself up to help him get them to my ankles, and then off, and he let them fall off the side of the bed. His tongue flicked across my nipple, changing pace from time to time, and each passing moment just made the warmth in my groin even stronger, even harder to resist.

“Sebastian…” I groaned, begging for him to keep going, to go further.

I let my hands explore the soft skin of his back, tracing along his spine and his shoulder blades, feeling every little movement of his in his bones.

Soon, he brought kisses down my stomach, past my belly button, getting unnervingly close to where I wanted him. I met his eyes, giving me that sly look from under his fringe.

I reached for his jeans, my inexperience perhaps showing as I started to get impatient. He let me remove them and toss them to the side, but then came back to meet my lips again. His hand wandered, however, to let a couple fingers cup me over my damp panties. He rubbed gently over top of them for a moment before pushing them aside, giving him the freedom to play around with my wet folds.

I let out a moan directly into his open mouth as he found my clitoris. I grabbed his wrist, holding his hand over it.

“Right there.”

He continued kissing me as his finger made circles over the nub of skin, rubbing it and following the instructions of my moans to find where the sweetest spot was.

“Yoba… Seb…”

I reached for the waistline of his boxers, holding him over the fabric and petting him. I heard him let out an even louder exhale than before and felt the hot air of his breath brush over my neck. I pulled the elastic down his hips a bit, just enough to feel him escape his undies. His hard member bounced around in between our stomachs for a moment before I grabbed hold of it and began rubbing it, from the head down the shaft.

“Andie…” he breathed out.

I lifted my head up to meet him in another kiss. He had stopped playing with my clit for now, but it was so wound up already, it didn’t need much more work before I was done. I rolled us over so that now I was on top, and I continued stroking his shaft, up and down, stopping to thumb his head for a bit from time to time. Watching him writhe and moan beneath me was incredibly motivating.

For a moment, I thought of taking him into my mouth, but I decided I wasn’t ready for that. We could try that another time.

I continued working him, watching him grunt and sweat until it seemed he was close. I stopped there for a moment, searching for his eye contact to let him know I was ready. He found my lidded, bedroom eyes somewhere in the darkness and rolled us back over in a kissing embrace.

He removed my panties without breaking the kiss, and I helped him remove his boxers from where they hung on his hips.

“Ready?” he asked, breathing deeply as he did so.

“Yes. Fuck, Seb. Yes,” I breathed, returning to the kiss as though it had never ended.

One of his legs nudged my knees apart, spreading me open like I had been waiting for him forever. He pulled away from the kiss, and then I could feel the head of his penis finding its way through my folds, burying itself within the wetness, before finding its intended hole. He slid in so perfectly, so easily, like a jigsaw puzzle’s pieces that, finally, belonged together and fit like they were made for each other.

His shaft filled me so divinely, I almost let out a cry when it began to leave, but it was only to be pumped back in. Though it hadn’t been touched, I could feel it all the way in my clitoris. Every grinding movement could be felt through the entirety of my pelvis.

I looked up at Sebastian’s face, eyes closed, sweat dripping from his hairline, so perfectly. His body brushed against the outer skin of me with every push, giving me just enough movement for my sensitive clit to feel everything happening around it.

I felt my head tilt back over my pillow. It was coming. My leg instinctively wrapped around his body, helping him get himself in and out of me, but mostly in.

“Keep going, Seb. I’m so close.”

“Andie, fuck…” 

And he did. The pace he was working was just what I needed, and soon I felt the bubble of feelings pop.

All that had been building inside me, like a giant ball of fire, had just been put out in a spectacular explosion of fireworks, blinding me, and finding every inch of my body to warm with the pleasant euphoria.

I laid there underneath him, feeling everything within my body at once, almost forgetting about him entirely, but I couldn’t. He had done this, and he was still pumping into me, breaking the solid rhythm to hurry to his own climax.

With a choked gasp, he stopped mid pump and plopped down over me, his forehead meeting mine. I couldn’t feel what he had released inside of me, between my own wetness and the euphoria still fading from my body, but I didn’t mind.

Then, in the darkness, there was silence but for the sound of our breaths. No more grunts, moans, the sound of slapping skin, just breaths trying to catch themselves in the deep night.

Drowsily, I reached my arms around his back, staring him in the eyes and kissed him once again. Now that I could feel, I realized he was still inside of me, limp. He pulled out slowly, then rolled over onto his side, continuing his heavy breathing.

“Should… should I have pulled out? I didn’t even think of that…” he whispered into the night.

“No, it’s fine. I’m on the pill.”

“Oh, okay.  Good.”

“So… wanna go again?” I asked, turning to face him.

His face, which even in the dark I could tell was red as a beet and covered in a layer of sweat, looked at me like I was crazy.

“Maybe tomorrow,” he chuckled.

“Maybe every day after that.”

He laughed once again.

Soon, we were in the clutches of sleep, unable to even fathom having the energy to do anything else at this time of night.


	26. Chapter 26

The next day, I woke up to the sound of scratches on the bedroom door: Honey, begging for my attention so that I may let her outside. I sat up in bed and remembered I was still naked. I turned to the spot next to me, where Sebastian was laid on his stomach, his stark of raven-coloured hair spilled over the pillow in messy waves. His body heaved with every gentle, sleepy breath. I felt a smile pull on my face, like an absolutely stupid grin with a mind of its own.

I grabbed a new pair of underwear and threw my bra back on before fitting myself in my farmer’s clothes. I left Sebastian to rest, as I knew he tended to sleep in.

It was the last day of Fall, and so I spent the morning pulling up crops and trying to make sure I had every last bit of produce in the gardens. They would be the last things grown on the farm for an entire season, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything that would be left to die in the Winter cold.

Suddenly, I heard Honey barking. I followed the sound of her barks with my eyes to see Robin standing at the mountain path entrance to the farm, kneeled over to scratch Honey behind her ears, with a bag full of tools at her side.

“Hi, Robin,” I called over.

“Andie! Hi! I’m here to work on the coop upgrade!” she called back.

I had entirely forgotten I asked her to upgrade the coop. She walked over to meet me with Honey jumping around at her side, excited to have a visitor.

“By the way, have you seen Sebby this morning? I heard him take the motorcycle out last night, but I never heard it come-… home.”

“Oh, I, uh…” I shifted my weight as I turned my glare over to the farm, rubbing my other arm. The motorcycle was still sitting in front of the house from where it had been parked last night, and I’m sure it was the sight of it that interrupted Robin’s thoughts as she spoke.

“He… he stayed here last night, didn’t he?”

I didn’t answer her, which I’m sure was more than enough of an answer for her.

“It’s fine, I get it. You two are serious now. I suppose he told you about the job he accepted in Zuzu City?”

She knew? Of course she did. That must have been what she was whispering to him about during Spirit’s Eve last night. She was wondering if he’d told me yet.

“Yeah. He told me. We’re gonna try to make it work.”

“That makes me happy to hear. I know Demetrius is a bit of a stiff and he’s stubborn, but I think you’re good for Seb. You make him so happy, I can see.”

“Thanks, Robin. It makes me happy to hear it from you. I feel like I might actually be doing the right thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Abigail wanted me to ask Seb to stay. I couldn’t do that.”

“Oh. I see,” she said, turning back to Honey to pet her some more. “Well, it’s up to you. Yoba knows, he won’t listen to me. I will say, if you made him stay, Demetrius wouldn’t be happy. But it’s none of Demetrius’s business. Between you and me, Dimi has been a little on edge since Maru is going to be leaving us for university soon.”

“Oh, I’m sure you both must be. That’s gotta be hard, the idea that she won’t be around all the time.”

“And soon, Sebby will be moving out too, going to the city. Things are just changing so fast.” Robin sounded so wistful, like she was holding back tears.

I wasn’t really great with emotional people, ironic considering how emotional I could be, but I found myself putting my arms around her, holding her head to my shoulder. I felt a tear or two moisten my shirt.

“I’m sorry, Robin.”

“You don’t need to be sorry, it’s not your fault. You make Sebby happy, if anything that makes me feel so much better. I know that, even all the way in the city, even if he might not like it when I check up on him, he’ll still have someone calling him - someone who loves him.”

Loves him. Loves him, she said. I did love him, didn’t I? For so long, I had been given the impression that it was a word best reserved for farther down the line, when marriage was imminent. But of course I loved him. How could I not? Emotionally, we’d connected on some of the most important levels. Perhaps most people didn’t fall in love with their first boyfriends or girlfriends, but Seb and I weren’t in highschool, and we weren’t teenagers. We were young adults, with much better visions of what we wanted in life than even five years ago, even two years ago.

“I’ll make sure he knows he’s loved,” I told her, patting her back. “And I’ll tell him to call you once in a while.” It was a promise, and an important one for me to make. I hadn’t even realized what Robin was going through right now, and I even felt sympathy for Demetrius in that moment.

With that, she pulled away, wiping her cheeks with her sleeves.

“Sorry for coming over and sobbing all over you while you’re trying to work. I’ll get started on your coop.”

“Do you wanna come inside and have a cup of tea before you start?”

“No, it’s fine. Besides, I think someone’s awake,” she giggled, her attention turned to the cabin.

I followed her gaze to see Sebastian, stepping out onto the porch wearing his jeans and shirt, both of which were completely wrinkled from spending the night in a ball on the floor. His normally straight hair was crunched up into little waves. I also realized he had an embarrassingly noticeable hickey on his neck, purple against his nearly snow-white skin. He froze upon seeing that Robin was here.

“Oh, mom. W-what are you doing here?”

“Don’t worry, Seb. I’m just here to work on Andie’s coop. You go about your business.”

I giggled as Robin and I parted, her heading off to the coop, grabbing the basket of tools she left by the entrance to the farm, and I walked over to greet Sebastian. I took off my gardening gloves before putting my hands on his arms and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Sleep well?” I asked him.

“Y-yeah. I didn’t know my mom was showing up today. Fuck, does she know we…”

“What she knows is that you’re an adult now, Seb. I don’t think she cares.”

“It’s just… it’s still embarrassing.”

“Here, want a cup of coffee? I could use one too, actually. Let’s go inside.”

 

I prepared two cups of coffee, and then sat them down on the dining table, where Sebastian was sat looking anxious as ever.

“Sorry, it’s instant. It’s all I have right now.”

“It’s good enough, I guess.”

“So, I don’t think I asked, when are you leaving for the city?”

“Two days,” he said, taking the first sip of his black coffee and staring down at it intensely.

“Have you told Sam yet? He’s gonna be so mad that you won’t be in the band any more.”

“Yep. He knows, and he still wants to continue the band without me if you and Abby are okay with it. He wants to call the new group The Threesome, but I told him that probably wouldn’t go over well.”

“Yeah, that’s a big no from me,” I laughed.

“I should probably go home after I finish my coffee. I have some work to finish.”

“Alright. I dealt with the garden already, so I’ll probably head into the mines after this. By the way, Abigail sent text earlier asking for us to go to the Saloon tomorrow night, to celebrate you getting your job.”

“Of course,” he sighed tiredly. “Guess we gotta go to that, huh?”

“I invited Maru as well,” I revealed cautiously. “I hope that’s okay. I think Sam’s bringing Penny too.”

“Why? Why did you invite Maru, exactly?”

“She’s a nice girl. And I know she’s your sister, so you’re kinda biased against wanting to hang out with her and that, but I think she could use some fun. She’s gonna be leaving for university in a few weeks and has a long road of hard work ahead of her.”

He groaned annoyedly, rubbing the inner corners of his eyes with one hand.

“I guess you’re right. Never again after tomorrow, though.”

“You’re too hard on her.”

“You have a little sister, you know what it’s like.”

“That’s besides the point! And it won’t ever happen again anyways because Maru will be out of town so often that it would be hard to invite her anyways.”

“Alright.”

With that, he downed the remaining sip in his cup and stood up from his seat.

“Want help with the cups?”

“Nah, it’s fine. You go start on your coding work.”

He nodded before rounding the table to give me a quick kiss on the lips and heading out the door.

He seemed to have a lot on his mind right now, understandably. His mood seemed different, more like how it was when we first met: subdued, standoffish, and moody. It probably wasn’t the best timing for me to be inviting Maru to one of our hang outs, but what’s done is done.

 

After spending the rest of the afternoon and the next full day in the mines, I arrived late to the gathering at the saloon. Sam and Penny were playing a round of pool, Abby and Maru were in an intense game of Journey of the Prairie King, and Sebastian was sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

I sighed to myself before making my way over to him.

“What are you drinking, nerd?” I chuckled as I sat beside him.

“Just beer. I got a rum and coke for you, but the ice melted a bit by now. Might be kinda watery, but you can still have it if you like,” he grabbed the glass, the outside of which was covered in condensation, from a table beside the couches and offered it over to me without even taking his eyes away from his phone. The drops of water fell into my lap, but I brushed it off and took the glass.

“Appreciate it,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. He acted like he didn’t even notice me do it as he continued to stare at the screen of his phone. “Trying to find an apartment?”

“Nah, the company has a place for me. The rent’s not too bad either.” He sounded so polite and normal as he spoke, but still there was nothing in his body language, nothing to acknowledge my existence next to him. 

I was starting to feel hurt by now. He was behaving so impersonally with me. Had I done something wrong? Something that made him emotionally revert back to a more aloof, reserved state?

I got up and headed over to observe the game of pool, to leave Sebastian to his little bubble.

“Hey, Sam! Hi Penny, we haven’t really had much of a chance to talk yet. How are you?”

“Hey Andie!” Sam cried before going back to his position, arms around Penny teaching her how to shoot.

“Oh, hello Farmer Andie. I’m doing quite well,” she giggled as Sam playfully hugged her and helped her make the shot. “How is the farm?”

It was almost odd seeing Penny, always so reserved and quiet, laughing and happy. It seemed like Sam might be really good for her in that sense.

“The farm is great. I just picked the last of the Fall crops yesterday morning, so I’m all ready for the snow to come. Should be any day now.”

“That sounds lovely. I kind of think I’d like living on a farm, myself.”

Sam rounded the pool table, searching for an angle to take his own shot, when he stopped directly behind me.

“Yoba, Andie! All these scratches on your back, I didn’t realize Seb was such an animal!”

I heard Sebastian burst into a muffled chuckle from where he sat, even Penny blushed into a polite giggle. I suddenly regretted that I was wearing a tank top, but the lower levels of the mines were steaming hot, like they were near a volcano perhaps. I had to wear something light.

“Those are from the monsters in the mines, you fucking bastard!” I yelled at him, taking a pool stick from the wall nearby and acting like I was about to whack him with it.

He jumped to hide behind Penny, who was still laughing at the whole scene.

“Yes, go hide behind your girlfriend, you little perv,” I said while laughing the whole time.

“She’s my bodyguard,” he joked, poking his head out from around her.

I shook my head as I set the pool stick back against the wall.

“I wish I could see what’s happening over there right now,” Abigail called over her shoulder, trying not to break her concentration from the game. Beside her, I could see Maru’s shoulders heaving a bit as if she was laughing silently.

I shook my head as I returned to the couch and sipped on my drink.

 

As the night went on, Sam and I took in turned buying a couple rounds of shots. Probably not one of my better ideas. We took in turns playing rounds of pool, and eventually, we found ourselves playing drinking games off to the side. I was already a little drunk by the time we had started making suggestions.

We were sat spread out, over the two couches and a couple extra chairs pulled up.

“Okay, what about Never Have I Ever?” Maru suggested.

“Isn’t that game for, like, teenagers?” Sebastian asked snidely.

“I… am a teenager.” As she said it, she held up her glass of cola as if reminding him she was too young to buy alcohol or drink in public.

“I think we should play it!” Sam said, immediately, throwing his hands up excitedly.

“Of course you do, you’re practically a child,” Abigail snickered.

“No way-”

“Never have I ever…” Sam interrupted Sebastian, trying to think of the first prompt. “Eaten dog food.”

Sam seemed a little surprised, looking around to see none of us going for our drinks.

“Okay, fine, I’ve tried dog food,” he said, partially embarrassed to admit it, partially glad he could take a gulp of his drink.

“Okay, that was fucking weird. Thanks, Sam. Never have I ever… called in sick when you weren’t just to play video games or get high or something. Doesn’t count if you stayed home to do something productive, like you skipped class or work to finish a school project.”

“Been there, done that,” I said, taking a gulp of my drink. “Fuck Joja, they didn’t deserve me.”

Sebastian, Sam and Abigail all took a drink as well.

“Why do I have a feeling you all skipped together to smoke in the bathrooms or something?” I asked them.

“You’re not far off,” Abigail replied, holding her drink up.

“Never have I ever…” Maru started. “Learned to play an instrument.” She knew she’d get all of us with that one, even Penny who sipped from her glass of white wine. She had been declining shots and was far less drunk than us.

“Me next? Okay, never have I ever… used a fake ID,” I suggested.

Sebastian and Abigail both drank.

“I have to hear this story,” I insisted.

“When we were dating, we went into Zuzu City one night and we tried to go to a nightclub. Mostly my idea, of course, Seb wouldn’t have been caught dead there.”

“Did it work?”

“We got in,” she shrugged. “Had some drinks, I tried to dance and Seb wouldn’t, and we ended up leaving. We bought a bunch of booze before heading back home though, of course.”

“Nice,” I nodded along. “Okay, Penny’s turn!”

“Oh, okay, um… never have I ever… had a dream about someone I really liked.”

“Like, a sexy dream?” Abigail asked for clarification.

“Oh, I didn’t mean that, but I suppose that would fit in too.”

I looked around as I took a drink, Maru took one too.

“Nice. Was it about Seb?” Sam asked.

“Yeah…”

“Was it sexy?” Sam continued to taunt.

“Shut the fuck up,” I laughed. “Enough about me, who did you dream about Maru?”

“Don’t try to divert this, dish the details.”

“I haven’t even told Seb all the details, just that I had the dream.”

I looked over to Sebastian, who seemed entertained by all this.

“You can tell him, I don’t care- I mean, I don’t mind,” he fumbled. I sighed deeply. I had been hoping he’d be on my side, not Sam’s.

“Yay! Where were you in the dream?” Sam pressed. Abigail, Penny and Maru were giggling like mad now.

“We were in the woods, in Cindersap Forest, by the water. At first we were just hanging out, with our feet in the water. Then Seb’s hand was on mine, then we were kissing,” I revealed, releasing a giggle of embarrassment about trying to explain all this.

“No, what about the sex? How was dream Sebastian?” Abigail urged on. Maru seemed embarrassed for me now.

“I didn’t say we had sex in the dream, I said it was sexy. We made out in the dream. And Dream Sebastian was very… dominating,” I admitted, turning to face Seb.

Oddly enough, he didn’t seem very embarrassed by this at all. I would have thought it would have had him flustered, but I was the only one red-faced at the moment. It was then I realized he must have been sober. I knew he wasn’t a big drinker, so I wasn’t surprised, but I guess I had been working under the assumption that we were all a little drunk except for Maru.

“Do you want me to be more dominating?” he asked, eyeing me over his beer.

“I have no preference on this matter,” I giggled once more. “I’m so drunk, aren’t I? Oh my Yoba, okay, who’s next?”

“I think I am,” Seb jumped in. “Never have I ever given someone else a hickey.”

“Fuck off,” I said to him as I took a drink. Everyone else cackled at the fact that Sebastian had clearly deliberately targeted me.

“It’s okay, me too,” Abigail said, taking a drink as well. “We’ve all been there, man.”

“Have we? I don’t think I have,” Sam said, seeming to be in thought.

“You’ve never sucked your girlfriend’s neck? Get on it, Samson!”

Penny giggled at this, her cheeks going a little rosy.

“Maru’s turn!” Sam said, diverting the topic.

“Never have I ever had sex,” she said, rolling her eyes innocently as if she hadn’t just asked that.

Abigail, Sebastian and I were the only ones to drink. I was surprised to see Sam didn’t move to take a sip.

“Samwise! Really? You ain’t lost the ol’ v card yet?” I asked, between drunk little burps. “I am so sorry, guys.”

“Are you apologizing for burping or for calling it a ‘v card’?” Abigail cackled.

“Both, now that I’ve realized ‘v card’ is not an okay thing to say. Anyways, Sam, I’m surprised.”

“Why are you surprised? Who would I have sex with in this town? Up until now, I haven’t dated anyone because the town is kinda fucking small in case you haven’t noticed.”

“How do you feel about possibly being Sam’s first, Penny?” I asked, turning to face her.

“Oh, I… haven’t really thought about it. We… we haven’t talked about it yet,” Penny fumbled through her thoughts.

“Come on, Andie, don’t ask them that. It’s personal,” Abigail said, nudging me.

“It wasn’t personal when I had to discuss my dream.”

“Penny’s different from you,” she scolded in a whisper.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t bother you.”

“You only had sex for the first time a few days ago and now you’re drunk, I don’t think you should be playing authority on everyone else’s sex lives,” Sebastian said, just loud enough to embarrass me in front everyone else.

“I knew you two had sex, mom was acting really weird and emotional that day. She only does that when something big or weird happens in our lives. I knew something was up,” Maru said, chuckling over her soda. “How did she find out?”

Sebastian ignored her, not seeming bothered.

“I said I’m sorry, I won’t act like that again,” I slurred, holding my hands up defensively. I downed the last bit of my drink in a large gulp. “You know what, I should head home…”

“Are you sure?” Abigail asked.

“Yeah, I came here right from the mines, and, er, Honey is probably lonely-” as I stood up, my knees buckled beneath me. Sebastian caught my arm.

“I have never seen you drink this much,” he remarked. He suddenly seemed worried. “Here, I’ll walk you home.”

“Take good care of her, Seb. She’s not used to being this drunk,” Abigail added.

“I will, thanks. Alright, goodbye everybody,” Sebastian said, putting my arm around his shoulders.

“Bye bye,” I waved weakly at the crowd, feeling my stomach lurch.

Everyone said ‘goodbye’ in their own way as Seb and I hobbled out.

 

We made our way back towards the farm in a slow, clumsy walk, with me stumbling around a bit beside Sebastian. A soft flutter of snow began falling from the sky some time during the night, and now there was a thin layer covering all the paths in town, all the way over to the farm.

“Are you mad at me?” I finally asked as we approached the cabin, cold snow hitting my face.

“What? No, I’m not mad at you. Why would I be?”

“Because I’m embarrassing,” I whined, grabbing my key from my bag and poking at the door until Sebastian took my hand and guided it towards the lock.

“You’re not embarrassing. You’re my girlfriend, I love you.”

“You do?” I gasped in awe before throwing my hands around his neck and nuzzling into his chest. I looked up at him, his cold features highlighted by the sparkle of snowflakes speckled on the hairs of his head.

“Of course I do,” he chuckled, taking my hand off his neck to take me inside.

“But you were so mean earlier. Why were you mean?”

“I just get like that sometimes. I’m really sorry. I’m just kind of stressed out, and worried about tomorrow.”

He helped me into my bedroom and sat me on the bed.

“I love you too. Like, a lot. I never thought I’d find someone I’d love as much as I love you.”

He chuckled once again.

“Need help getting pajamas on, or… I dunno, getting your make up off?” he offered.

I sighed as I plopped back onto the bed, too lazy to change out of my clothes now.

“No, I’m okay.”

“Okay. I’m gonna head home now.”

“No, stay with me,” I begged, patting the spot next to me on the bed.

“I really don’t need people to see me taking you away drunk, and then finding out I stayed over. It doesn’t look good.”

“I don’t care, I’ll set them straight. I’ll say, ‘no! My Sebby is a good guy. He would never, ever do that. He just kept me company, and kept me warm, and…’ maybe get me a bucket.”

“What? Oh! Uh…” he ran around to the kitchen and, after hearing some shuffling, he returned with the metal bucket I used to store my tools sometimes. “Here ya go.”

Before I could even thank him, I turned over off the side of my bed, taking the bucket from his hands to empty the contents of my stomach into it. He patted me on the back as my stomach lurched, forcing more vomit up my throat.

“I am so sorry,” I groaned, waiting to make sure that was the last of it.

“Don’t apologize. Any more?”

“I don’t think so.” I turned back onto my back on the bed and stared up on the ceiling.

I heard him leave the room, and then the sound of water running from the bathroom. He must have been rinsing out the bucket. When he returned to my bedside, I took his hand.

“You’re too good to me.”

“I’m just doing what’s best for you.”

“Staying is best for me. Will you stay here?”

“This time, you’re actually right. I don’t want to have you throwing up in your sleep.”

I smirked up at him, patting the spot next to me once more. He took his hoodie off, and then his jeans so that he was wearing just a t shirt and his boxers, then cuddled in next to me. I could feel my lids becoming heavier by the second.

“Kiss, please.”

He kissed me on the lips quickly, then laid his head back, onto the pillow next to mine.

Soon after that, I passed out.


	27. Chapter 27

I awoke the next morning to a splitting headache. Before I even opened my eyes, my temples felt like they were being squeezed in a vice. I groaned as I brought a hand up to my crown. I reached across the bed with my other arm.

“Seb, are you awake-” But my arm fell onto the mattress, finding no body sharing the bed with me.

I sat up and looked around, still holding my head. I desperately wanted to lay back down and rest for the morning, but I wanted some painkillers even more. I kicked my feet off the side of the bed and shuffled out of the bedroom door.

On the other side, I was met with surprise to see Sebastian cooking, and the kitchen table set for breakfast.

“What’s going on here?” I mumbled.

“Awake at last? Breakfast will be ready soon.”

“I thought you couldn’t cook. What are you making?”

“I found a recipe for pancakes online. I’ve done a little bit of cooking, so I figured everything out, I think.”

“Wow, Seb. You didn’t have to do this. Hey, if you do come back to the Valley you could move in and be my live-in chef,” I chuckled. “I’m just gonna take some painkillers.”

“Sure thing.”

I entered the bathroom door and shut it behind me. I couldn’t help but feel confused, thinking about this whole situation, as I pulled the bottle of pills out from the cabinet and filled my rinse cup with water. Closing the cabinet, I saw my make up had smudged all around my eye sockets. I cleaned it off, and then returned to my thoughts.

This was strange. He was all quiet and aloof last night, then he apologizes and takes me home, and takes care of me and makes me breakfast. Was this all because he’s worried about what’ll happen when he leaves? I guess that’d be enough to do it.

I took the pill, and then hopped in the shower to have a quick wash.

What did we talk about last night? I wish I could remember. Maybe this would make more sense then.

I exited the bathroom, leaving behind a billow of steam escaping the bathroom door. Breakfast was ready and set out on the table, which Sebastian was sitting at with a cup of black coffee as he scrolled through his phone.

“Everything’s ready,” he said, turning his attention to me and putting his phone away into his pocket.

“Thanks, Seb.” I smiled as I took a seat and piled a couple pancakes onto my plate.

“Do you… remember last night?”

“Not really. Not from later in the night, anyways. We… we played Never Have I Ever… I don’t remember what we talked about though. And then we left.”

“Yeah. Has anyone ever told you you can be a, uh, let’s say a rambunctious drunk?”

“Oh…” I said, pausing as I took a sip of the steaming cup of tea in front of me. “Was I really bad?”

“Only a little.”

“Did I embarrass you?”

“Funny, you asked me that last night when we were coming home too.”

“It’s one of my default anxiety questions,” I said with a weak laugh. “So, did I?”

“I don’t care, Andie. You were drunk, who’s gonna hold you to it?”

“What did I do?”

“You were just bothering Sam and Penny about their relationship, that’s all. Sam can take the teasing, that’s not a problem. Abigail was just worried that Penny’s not as… thick-skinned, I guess.”

“Oh Yoba, poor Penny. If I see her today, I’ll apologize to her.”

“Anyways, eat up. We have a couple hours before I need to be on my bike and heading out of here.”

“It’s funny, but I almost forgot you were actually leaving today.”

“What do you wanna do until I have to go?”

“I dunno. The spa would probably be nice and hot, especially now that there’s snow on the ground. Man, that reminds me, you better drive carefully! If you catch some black ice and get in a crash because you weren’t paying attention, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Not if I die in the crash first,” he taunted with a chuckle.

“Don’t even joke like that,” I scolded, shoving a huge bite of pancake into my mouth.

“Alright, I’m sorry. So, what do you wanna do today? You really wanna go to the spa?” he asked sipping his black coffee.

In my head, the image of him sweating and red faced on top of me popped into my head.

“Do you think the spa will be empty?”

“Why do you ask?” he asked, smiling his mischievous little smirk.

“Take a guess,” I said flirtatiously, as I took a sip of my earl grey tea.

“Oh, you want me to dominate you? Just like in your sexy dream.”

“How did you know that?” I asked, pausing just before taking another bite of my pancakes.

“Another thing you revealed to the crowd at the Stardrop Saloon last night.”

“Fuck. I’m not allowed to drink any more. Only weed from now on.”

“Oh, I see. Do you still want me to dominate you though?” he asked suggestively before chuckling.

“I mean… yeah,” I grinned like an idiot at him, feeling my cheeks get a little rosy and warm. “I know you’re just saying it like that to make fun of me, but can you stop saying it like that? It sounds so corny.” I laughed, finishing my plate.

“Okay. Do you want me to fuck you? Or should we make love?” he said each one in a joking manner.

“Yoba, it all sounds corny, doesn’t it?”

“Kinda, yeah. Here, let me take the dishes.”

“No, it’s okay. Thanks for making breakfast,” I said, kissing him on the cheek as I carried both our plates over to the sink to start cleaning up.

I started washing up and leaving the dishes on a drying rack for now. Then Sebastian came over to hand me the coffee mugs. I took them and started washing them up as well. As I scrubbed at a frying pan, Sebastian wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling the side of my face with his nose. I leaned into his nuzzing gently as I finished the pan and set it on the drying rack. I took a cup next.

He started leaving little kisses on my cheek and down my neck. He brought one arm up to pull my hair out of my way, and then continued kissing down my neck, bringing his arm back around my waist.

“Are we doing this right now?” I giggled.

I finished washing my last cup and set it on the drying rack before bringing a hand up to gently hold the side of Sebastian’s face as he nibbled on a spot between my neck and my shoulder. One of his hands moved up my stomach to cup one of my breasts, the other made its way down, to massage my inner thigh.

“One last time before I go?”

“Yes, please,” I moaned out.

“Then I ask you once again… would you like me to dominate you?”

“Fuck me, you nerd.”

I turned around to let my lips meet his in a fierce embrace, grabbing at his shirt. I yanked it over his head and continued the kiss, feeling his warm lips brushing against mine. He brought his tongue out to meet my lips, and I parted them for him to meet my own tongue, tasting his mouth which was flavoured deliciously of coffee, cigarettes, and maple syrup. He pulled away for a moment to pull my shirt up, and then came back to the kiss, pushing me against the counter. I could feel his hips grinding against my own as I lifted myself up onto the edge.

I pulled my jeans off to drop them on the kitchen floor, and then went for Sebastian’s jeans, pulling them off his hips as well. He yanked my underpants off, letting them fall down my leg to my foot. I shook them off, and they fell to the floor.

I brought a hand up to cup his cheek, and pulled him back into the embrace. He brought a hand up to my cheek as well, which then traced down the length of my neck, following the curve of it down to my chest. His other hand found its way down to my wetness, his fingers feeling their way around until they found their entrance.

“Fuck,” I breathed out as he eased two fingers into me, soon covered in the wetness I was secreting.

He began gently pumping his fingers in and out of me, making the tingling grow as he once again brought his kisses down my neck to my breasts. One of his hands was placed on the counter as the fingers of his other hand continually made their way in and out of me. I wrapped my arms around him, one on his back and one on his head, threading my fingers through his dark, spiky hair.

My brain was firing off all those feel-good chemicals insanely, making it hard to know what to focus on.

He pulled his fingers out of me for the last time, and they were covered in the lubricating juices of my body. He brought the fingers back up and took one in his mouth, licking the dampness off in one smooth wipe. Then he held the other one out for me. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I even wanted to taste myself, but I could think of no reason not to oblige and took the finger in my mouth before letting him slowly pull it out. He watched me intensely as I did so, smiling a naughty smirk. I returned the smile, not minding my own taste. It made me wonder if he liked it as much as he seemed to.

I took that opportunity to take him out of his boxers, rubbing his hardness with the hand and exploring the contours of his chest with the other. He brought his mouth to mine again, exploring with his tongue as I continued to stroke him. He moaned at times, releasing his hot breath into my mouth and helping me find what he liked and where he liked it. I focused on him and he moved his hands to my back, gripping harder and harder on the skin of my shoulders as I worked him nearer and nearer to his finish.

It was then he took himself out of my hands, preparing to enter me for the second time that session, this time with his throbbing erection that could burst at any moment. I brought a hand down to help him aim his way through my folds and soon he was thrusting into me vigorously, both hands on the counter around either side of my body. I reached around his back once more, trying to keep my nails from digging in too hard, but being unable to hold on otherwise due to the layer of sweat.

“Fuck,” he moaned out. “Yoba, Andie.”

I felt a couple beads of sweat rolling down from my hairline, and my face felt hot enough to melt the snow outside.

“Seb… keep going, keep going.”

He continued his thrusting, pumping in and out of me, his member slicked by wetness and sliding in easily. All the movement, the friction, had me near slipping off the counter, so I was thankful when finally that choked up grunt came and his ejaculate filled me. I opened my eyes to see him pulling his limp member out of me.

He was red as a cherry, and covered in sweat as he also opened his eyes to meet my gaze. He leaned his forehead against mine, letting our warmth radiate between us as our breaths escaped in quick little spurts.

“Will that last you ‘til you get there?” I asked with a chuckle as I fixed my position on the counter to sit more comfortably.

“You didn’t finish, did you?” he asked worriedly, quickly changing the subject.

“No, but that’s okay.”

“No, I want you to. I want you to come.”

He pressed his lips to mine once more, and I could feel myself grinning into the kiss as he brought a hand down to the bundle of nerves sitting atop my entrance. He warmed it up, rubbing and stroking, making little circles of pressure around it and I could feel the build within me.

Then, he surprised me by kneeling and bringing his mouth over my pink flesh. I could feel his tongue swirling around the sensitive nub of skin, rubbing it and sucking on it. I instinctively leaned back as I gripped to the counter with one hand and let the other explore his hair once more.

I could feel the build nearing its peak as his sucking became faster and hurried. HIs tongue explored downwards for a moment, and I could feel it enter me, playing around with the mixture of creamy clear and white fluids that were there now. He came back up after a moment though, finishing his work on my clit. He set a constant pace on it now, and the tingly warmth within kept building past what I thought it could.

“Fuck, Seb,” I moaned out, breathing heavily in gasped breaths. “Don’t stop, don’t fucking stop.”

The pressure of the sucking mixed with the rubbing of his lips finally brought me to climax and my vision went white as my body twitched to life. The tingle went up my entire body to the crown of my head.

I tried to get my breathing back under control as I regained awareness of my body. I looked down at Sebastian to see his lips covered in slickness, his eyes watching my every movement. I realized I was gripping his hair kind of hard and let go, patting his hair back down to fix it.

“You good?” he breathed out.

“Yeah,” I said with a chuckle, still trying to catch my breath. “Better than good.”

He came back up to my lips to kiss me once more, letting me taste our combined fluids before he grabbed the paper towels and started cleaning off his mouth.

It was then I realized I could hear voices mumbling outside and then a knock at the door.

“Andie, Seb, we’re here to say goodbye!” Abigail’s voice called from the other side of the door.

“And yes, we heard everything,” Sam called afterwards with a snicker. “We’ll let you become presentable before you answer, but it’s cold out here so please don’t take too long.”

I bit my lips together in annoyance.

“Small towns, man,” I said in frustration.

“You got that right. Let’s get cleaned up,” he said, wiping my lips with the paper as well.

“I think I’ll just go clean up in the bathroom for a minute. Do not let them in until I am back!”

“Okay, just don’t take too long. Sam’s getting impatient.”

“It’s my house, I’ll take as long as I want.”

 

Once Seb and I felt we looked presentable, we let them in. I prepared some more coffee and tea for Sam and Abigail as they took seats around the dining table and began questioning Sebastian furiously.

“You got a place to stay when you get there?”

“Can we crash there after clubbing in the city?”

“You coming back next weekend?”

Sebastian took it in stride, humouring them at times and withholding his thoughts at other times.

“Yes, no, I don’t know.”

“You gotta come back soon to visit your girlfriend!” Sam cried, motioning to me.

“I’ll head out to the city sometimes too, I suppose. Of course, I’m reliant on Pam’s bus schedule which is… erratic at best,” I thought aloud as I turned my gaze down to my milky cup of coffee.

“We’ll work it out,” Sebastian said, clearing his throat and taking another sip of his coffee, not wanting to make it a big deal just now, I assumed.

“Yeah. I mean, that’s why video chat was invented, right?” I chuckled. I think Abigail caught the wistful undertone in my laugh, because I noticed her look changed for a moment and she was watching me. I avoided eye contact, not wanting to bring it up just now.

As it became more and more real, that Sebastian was really leaving, I felt a sense of dread building in my chest, like a rope tying itself in knots over and over. All the voices in the room sounded muffled and distant. My fingers tapped themselves mindlessly on the table as I turned my attention to Seb. I wanted to remember him as vividly as possible, as photographically as possible. Just as he had done to me countless times before, I let my eyes explore every line and curve of his face, his eyes the colour of storm clouds, the paleness of his skin, the a slight bit of pink visible underneath his cheeks…

Eventually Sebastian noticed my glare and turned to meet it. At first, his look was one of confusion before he broke into a slight smile and took my hand.

“You guys are so cute, you know that?” Sam asked, grinning and leaning his head onto his hands adoringly.

“Fuck off,” Sebastian said with a snicker.

“I was being serious. I love you guys. You’re my OTP.”

This earned wailing laughs from both Abigail and I, while Sebastian had that annoyed ‘why am I even friends with you?’ look.

I brushed my thumb over Sebastian’s hand, still holding mine. I wonder if this was why he was always looking at me like that? Maybe he was also trying to remember every line and curve of my face, just in case it someday wasn’t there any more. It would never be enough though, I realized as I continued to examine his mannerisms, stance, posture, expressions. I would never be able to replace all this, experiencing it all at once.

I caught Abigail’s eye again. She seemed concerned. I had a feeling her and I would be spending more time together after today, once Sebastian was gone.

“Anyways, I should probably go grab my bags from home and start getting ready.” Sebastian stood up, letting my hand fall back into my lap.

“Should we come with you?” Abigail asked.

“Well, you don’t have to come to the house with me, but we can meet at the bus stop to, uh… say goodbye.”

“Okay, Seb. We’ll just clean up Andie’s kitchen and we’ll meet you there soon.” Abigail began picking up some mugs and bringing them over to the sink.

“Sounds good. See you guys in a few.”

With that, he left whilst pulling his pack of cigarettes out of his hoodie pocket. A flash of white from the snowy outdoors entered the room when the door was opened, and left just as quickly once it was closed.

I had hardly moved in the time we’d been sitting there, so I slowly stood up and stretched my limbs lightly as I brought the remaining coffee mugs over to the kitchen. Abigail had already started washing them, so I handed them to her and started putting away the dishes from the drying rack. Sam remained sat at the table and started scrolling through his phone.

“You know, one day you and Penny might get married and you’ll have to learn how to do chores,” I said to him. He stared blankly at me for a moment before continuing to scroll.

“Well, ‘till that day comes,” he shrugged.

“You jackass,” I laughed.

Abigail sighed, placing the last mug into the drying rack before helping me with returning the dishes to their place.

“So, how you feeling?” Abigail asked nonchalantly.

“Me? Oh, I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said. She glared at me as dried up some teaspoons and handed them to me. “I know what you’re thinking, but I swear everything’s okay.”

She raised an eyebrow at me and placed another mug up into the cabinet.

“Well, that’s the last of them. Wanna head over to wait by the highway?”

I wiped my hands on my apron, an old flowery one with lace trim that I had found left in a closet from my grandma, and then untied the fabric strings and tossed it onto the dining table.

“I just need to grab my jacket and my hoodie.” I scurried into my bedroom, letting out a sigh as I reached into my closet.

I shuffled around before finding my army green coloured zip-up hoodie. Then, I wrapped it around me, each arm finding its sleeve, and zipped it up nearly to my neck. As I headed for the door I shifted my weight onto each foot with a jump to shake the nervous twitches out of my bones.

Once I had rejoined Abigail and Sam in the main room, I saw that they had already pulled on their winter coats and boots. Abigail had a toque with a purple pom-pom on it.

They were waiting for me.

I hurriedly pulled my snow boots, tied them up, and then removed my jacket from the hook on the wall and put it on.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Sam said, dragging open the front door, letting a couple specks of snow fly in. “Andie,” he said, offering it to me.

I smiled politely, with a complimentary nod, as I headed through the door into the chilly air.

 

The three of us arrived at the clearing to find Robin, Demetrius and Maru already there with Sebastian, whose bike was kicked up onto the roadside with his bags tied to either side of it. Robin, in a pair of red earmuffs and her yellow work jacket zipped up to her chin, seemed to be fussing over him, checking out his bike and making sure he had everything.

“I don’t know how I feel about you riding this thing all the way to the city, Seb. I wish you wouldn’t drive it at all.”

“Calm down, mum, it’s fine. I drive it all the time, I know what I’m doing.”

“Don’t forget to shoulder check, and do not go over the speed limit young man!” Demetrius bellowed, pointing a accusatory finger at him with a gloved hand.

Sebastian sighed heavily.  
“I won’t,” he whined, annoyedly.

He perked up seeing us arriving at the scene.

“There you guys are,” Robin said, in a friendly tone. “Here to see Sebby off?”

“Of course,” Abigail said as we approached the group and joined in.

Robin pulled Abigail into a hug immediately, and then once I had approached he hugged me as well.

“Nice to see you, Robin,” I said while thinking back to our talk the other day.

“Nice to see you too, Andie,” she said as we all turned back to face Sebastian.

“How much more time do you have?” Abigail asked him.

“Honestly, I should get going soon. I could use as much time as possible to settle in and get my stuff unpacked. I started my first day of work tomorrow so I should have my place ready,” he said, nervously scratching the back of his neck under his maroon-coloured beanie.

“Oh, gosh, so soon?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, I know. But the sooner I get on the road, the better.”

“Okay, well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Seb. Pelican Town will miss you,” Abigail said, putting her arms around him in his black hoodie, now also covered in a denim jacket as an overcoat. “Except for Mayor Lewis, he’ll be glad you’re not around to cause any trouble.”

“Thanks, Abby,” he chuckled as they pulled apart. Now he was facing Sam, who had remained quiet thus far and seemed to have a tear in his eye.

Sam said nothing at first and just hugged Seb into his chest. Sebastian began pushing away from him, both hands on both Sam’s shoulders. Now, I could hear Sam’s sobs escaping in small gasps.

“Sam, it’s okay bud. I’ll miss you too, man.”

“You’re my b-best friend, Seb. Please v-v-visit as often as you c-can.”

“Of course I will, Sam. When I come back, we can jam as Fire Quartz again. It’ll be a good time.” They broke apart, but Sebastian held Sam’s shoulders for a moment before letting go and moving on to his family, Sam still streaming tears down his face.

“Oh, Sebby…” Robin simply uttered as she pulled him into her arms in a comforting motherly hug.

“I’ll be okay, mom. You did a good job with me,” he joked. “I can hold my own.”

“I know you can. But I’m just gonna miss you so much.” A couple tears rolled down her round cheeks. They looked a lot like Sebastian’s cheeks, I realized. “Please, call me as often as you can. I know that means something different to you than it does to me, but just…please call and let me know you’re okay once in a while.”

“I will, mom, I promise.”

“Thank you, Sebby.”

She let go of him slowly and wiped her tears away with her jacket sleeve.

“Take care of yourself, Sebastian. I know your mother raised a good man,” Demetrius said, taking one of Sebastian’s shoulders in his hand and patting it like a dog’s head.

“Thanks, Demetrius,” Sebastian replied dutifully. Now on to his little sister.

“Well, what can I say? I’m proud of you, Seb,” she admitted as she took him in for a hug as well.

“I’m…proud of you too.” It almost sounded like it pained him to say the word. “Good luck in university. I’m sure you’ll do great things, Maru.”

“Thanks, bro.”

The two half-siblings parted, and Sebastian came to stand in front of me at last. The apples of his cheeks were frosted pink from the frigid air, as were the tips and knuckles of his fingers I noticed as he moved his hands to take mine in them.

“Your fingers are so goddamn cold, like, are you okay?” I said, forcing a laugh.

“They’re okay now that your warm hands are holding them,” he said flirtatiously.

I took in a deep breath as I stared down at our held hands.

“I’m gonna miss you, Seb. A lot.”

“I know, because I’m gonna miss you a lot too. I’ll try to video chat later tonight, if my internet is up and running. I’ll text and let you know what’s up.”

I felt my eyes glazing over in tears, but I was afraid to close them and let the tears fall.

“Sounds good,” I choked out. “I’ll be waiting.”

I brought my eyes up to meet his. He smiled sadly upon seeing my teary eyes. Both his thumbs massaged over the back of my hands.

“Hey, it’s all gonna be okay.”

He said it in the most calm, reassuring voice - surprisingly warm, coming from him. I had to smile, it was almost entirely unconscious.

“I know it will.” I wasn’t sure if I believed it, but what other choice did I have? I had to believe it, as any other possibility was too painful to even consider.

I leaned up to kiss him, pressing my lips gently against his which molded themselves around mine.

He let go of my hands to bring one arm around my waist and the other at the area where my jawline met my neck.

He pulled away after a few seconds, thankfully as I would have held on forever if I could have. I licked my lips instinctively as we let go of each other and Sebastian made his way over to his bike and started buckling on his helmet. I found myself staring at the ground, covered in snow and slush, clumped together around our footsteps, which were pointing in dozens of directions all over the place due to all our moving around as we said our goodbyes.

The engine of his bike kicked to life and slowed to a familiar grumble.

“Well, I guess I’m ready to get going,” he said, awkwardly.

“Drive safely, sweetie. I love you, goodbye!” Robin said, a couple more tears falling.

“Bye Seb!”

“Bye!” Sam cried out, releasing another sob.

“Bye Seb!”

“Goodbye, Sebastian.”

“Bye, Seb! I’ll miss you, and…I-I love you,” I said, releasing a sob of my own.

“Bye guys, I’ll miss you,” he said, bringing his visor down to cover his face from the particles of snow, which were still falling. “I love you too, Andie.”

With that, he started to accelerate and pulled away from the curb, heading on down the road until he was out of sight.

That was it, I supposed. He really was gone. His presence was no longer close enough to sense, and feel, and experience.

I blinked and the tears spilled over my bottom lids and down the slightly tan surface of my cooled off cheeks. I sniffled and wiped away the tears with my ungloved hands. Suddenly, a pair of arms were at my shoulders. I turned to my side to see Abigail’s comforting face. She began rubbing my shoulders soothingly. Her kind eyes met mine in a reassuring gaze. We found ourselves leaning our heads together, supporting one another in a side hug.

“He’ll be fine, Andie. And you’ll be okay too. You both will be, I just know it.”

Her words were so genuine and friendly, but I could barely focus on them as I broke down, hyperventilating and sobbing into my hands.


	28. Chapter 28

It had been a few days since Sebastian had left, and thus far we had video chatted each night of the week. Almost each day, I had been exploring the mines; I was sure I must have been approaching the bottom soon. I was collecting so many metals and gemstones, which luckily Maru was willing to use as well as teaching me how to craft sprinklers. The sprinklers had started piling up as I hoarded them in order to set up a system once the Springtime came back around.

Abigail seemed determined to keep me company during this time, dropping by almost every night with some homemade baked goods, which weren’t very good but the thought was still appreciated.

 

That Friday, I was video chatting with Seb after his work day while I worked on my own dinner.

“What are you making?” he asked, from within the small laptop screen, looking up from his container of take-out Chinese food.

“Fried calamari and lemon potatoes with tzatziki,” I said, looking over from where I was preparing the batter.

“Craving Greek food?” he chuckled as he brought a piece of some sort of sauce-covered meat to his mouth.  
“Just a little bit,” I laughed, as I leaned over the counter to look at the screen again. “Besides, squid is in season. I’ve been catching some to give to Elliott anyways, since I found out he likes them. I’ve also been giving Maru some iron and gold from the mines, which she’s been really grateful for.”

“I’m sure she appreciates that. Why are you bringing gifts to Elliott?” he asked suspiciously.

“Him and Leah are always talking about art and stuff, so I thought it might be interesting to get to know them a bit better. Leah loves wine, by the way. Like, a lot. In case you ever need her to help you out or something.”

“Ah, okay, art stuff. Sounds great, sounds really… boring.”

“Fuck off,” I laughed. “What are you eating anyways? I really miss Chinese food. Is that sweet and sour pork?”

“Yep.” He smirked.

“Yobadammit, that looks so good.”

He held a piece of it up to the camera, as if feeding it to me through the screen.

“You’re just teasing me now.”

He pulled it away from the screen and popped it into his mouth. It went quiet for a while as I tested the frying oil and started battering rings and tentacles of fresh squid I had caught earlier that day. I had to ask Willy to kill it for me as I felt way too guilty. I had never really, fully, gotten the hang of fishing since receiving the rod from Willy. It was far too akin to hunting, and I simply struggled to feel good about doing it, but now that I had a bit more time I decided to give it another go. I still didn’t really like it though.

“How were the mines today?” he finally asked.

I was just straining the cooked squid of its oil and admiring their golden brown colour, and the crisp looking texture.

“Not bad. A shadow shaman beat the shit out of me, but I’m still on my feet.”

“Damn. You okay?”

“Just some scratches and bites. I got Harvey, and Rasmodius to look at them. Harvey gave me a tetanus shot, and Rasmodius gave me a potion that tasted like grass and dirt, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine.”

“Yep, sounds about right,” he laughed.

I spooned a dollop of extra garlic tzatziki onto my plate and brought it to my set up dinner table, bringing my laptop over to sit in front of me as well. I started digging into my meal and moaned as I revelled in the delicious airy crunch of the calamari I had just prepared.

“Hey, save those noises for when I get back.”

“Shut up! You wouldn’t wanna kiss me after eating this anyways; there’s enough garlic in here to kill every vampire in existence. Besides, what if your roommate hears you say that?” I was surprised to hear Sebastian was getting a roommate, but when I heard how much his rent was it became clear to me how helpful having someone share the burden would be to him. He managed to find another guy who was just starting work there at around the same time as him and was also moving to the city and needed a new apartment - only he was moving from the suburbs, not the countryside.

“Chris is out for the evening with his high school buddies, so it’s just you and me.”

“Well, I hope you won’t be too lonely since I’m actually gonna have to leave you around eight-ish. Abigail is forcing me to go to the Saloon.”

“Damn that girl. It’ll be good for you to get out though. Sounds like you’ve been working a lot this week.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I was reminded of the soreness in my shoulders and lower back, as well as the stinging that remained from the scratches on my upper arms. “It’ll be fine. Anyways, how’s having a roommate? I know you like your space normally.”

“It’s not so bad. Sometimes his boyfriend stays the night and I have to hear them going at it, but other than that it’s not so bad. We get along okay and everything.”

“That’s great,” I said, putting another piece of calamari in my mouth. “Bad roommates can be really shitty, been there. Sucks that you have to hear him and his boyfriend though. I hate hearing other people having sex. Hmm, I’m surprised he didn’t want to move in with his boyfriend, then.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. The boyfriend lives out of town, maybe he can’t afford to move into the city. Seems like he’ll be staying over often enough though.”

“Guess so. I forget how expensive the city is sometimes. My pay was a little more proportionate to my rent back then. Still struggled sometimes, but it worked. Better than it would if I tried to live there on my farm salary.”

He nodded along while he worked on his food, seeming to finish his last few bites before dropping the chopsticks into the folded cardboard box and placing it off to the side of his laptop. I stared at the screen for a few moments as I leaned on one arm and used the other to bring bites of food to my mouth.

“I should probably get going soon. I have a couple things I should organize before work tomorrow, and you probably have to get ready for the Saloon soon.”

“Yeah. Up to you, I could stick around a bit longer. I’m still eating,” I said, realizing I was still in my mining clothes, a pair of black overalls over what used to be a warm long sleeve shirt during the colder floors, but which now had to be replaced with a tank top for the warmer ones. The overalls were covered in specks of dirt and various colours of monster blood - red, black, pink, and purple - which stained and wouldn’t come out in the wash.

“I think I’ll go. I don’t know how long it will take to finish, so it’s better I give myself more time.”

“Alrighty. Good luck on your work, Seb.” Still leaning on my arm, I was staring as much as possible into his eyes. The screen obscured the details a little more than I would have liked. Hearing him speaking, his voice filling the emptiness in the old farm cabin, helped maintain a certain presence, assuaging some of my loneliness of the past few days. Abigail was right in trying to invite me out. I don’t think I even realized how much I needed to be around others right now.

“Thanks, Andie. Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Probably, yeah. Good night.”  
“See ya.”

With that, he ended the call.

 

And the quiet was back. The deafening silence, which filled my ears with nothingness and somehow could be felt in its nonexistence. I looked around the cabin. I had the fireplace lit and Honey was laid down on her side in front of it, enjoying the comforting warmth. She was looking over, making eye contact with me as my eyes explored the room.

“Hey sweetie.”

Her tail wagged a couple times upon hearing the higher pitch of my voice, before stopping. She leaned her head back onto the ground to relax and maybe take a nap.

Once I finished my food, I cleaned up my plate. The clattering of the dishes felt twice as loud as usual, seeming to blow out my ear with each accidental clank. I placed them back into the cabinets delicately, trying to avoid any unnecessary noises.

I joined Honey by the fireside and started petting her, letting my fingers tangle themselves in her hair and gently pull through the knots. The warmth from her body and the heat from the fireplace made the main room almost too warm for me, even in my tank top.

After laying there for perhaps a good twenty minutes and just relaxing and dazing off, I eventually decided to head to my room and get changed for the evening. My brain had been relatively empty lately. I would try to sit with my thoughts, and there would be nothing in my head. I thought I might be sad when Sebastian left, but in actuality I felt nothing. While I was working, I could focus on that, but when I had nothing to do I would just kind of dissociate for a while. Time was simultaneously passing too slowly, as I waited for our next video chat or phone call, and too quickly, as I would lose hours while my brain zoned out to radio static.

I shuffled some clothes around my closet, figuring I’d probably go with my usual jeans and tee shirt anyways but wanting to give some of my other clothes a chance. I mindlessly shuffled through the same clothes a dozen or so times before choosing one of my favourite band tee shirts and my ripped faded jeans. I could layer on one of my thick flannels and a snow jacket and I should be fine. I sighed as I pulled my overall straps off to let the material sit bunched up around my hips and started removing my tank top when I heard a knock on the door, followed by Honey howling at the noise.

“One second, be right there!” I called over.

“Okay! It’s Abby, by the way.”

“Be right there, Abby!”

I hurried and yanked off my mining clothes, letting them fall wherever they happened to land for now and yanked on my jeans and t shirt before running over to the door.

As I entered the living room, I realized just how loud Honey’s barking was.

“Honey, it’s okay, it’s just Abby. Please stop barking,” I begged, hearing her deep boofs resonating uncomfortably in my ear drums. I opened the door, allowing Honey to see that it was Abby.

“It’s just me, Honey! I’m so happy to see you, ya cutie!” Abigail said, rubbing Honey all over her face and scratching her ears which made her calm down and contently receive the pets.

“Hey Andie! You okay? We’ve been at the Saloon for an hour now, I thought I’d come make sure you’re okay. It’s okay if you don’t want to come, but-”

“No, I want to! I just got changed, I was just leaving. You’ve been there for an hour already? How long have I been deciding what to wear?” I asked myself aloud.

“Are you okay, Andie? You seem… not yourself. A little irritated. I’ve never heard you yell at Honey like that before.”

“Was I yelling at her? I didn’t even notice, I just… I don’t know. I don’t know what’s up with me lately.”

“Are you sure you’re okay to hang out tonight? Maybe you should rest-”

“No, I already got changed and I want to see everyone. I’ve been working all week, taking care of the animals, making wine and beer, and I’ve been in the mines every day. I should get out.”

“Oh-okay. I’ll let you finish getting ready then. Here, let’s close this door, we’re letting the cold in.”

Abigail stepped inside, closing the door behind her, and continued to keep Honey content with scratches and pets.

I rubbed at my temples roughly as I grabbed my phone and shoved it in my pocket, then grabbed some cash, shoved that into my other pocket and, lastly, my key. Then, all that was left was to pull on my snow boots and my warm jacket over my brown and red flannel. When Abby saw that I was dressed, she said ‘goodbye’ to Honey and we left.

 

At the bar, I waited on a stool while either Gus or Emily returned with my drink. Barely there, I found myself observing the surroundings over and over again. Turning to face the doorway to the game room, I could see Sam and Abigail fighting over a game of pool, with Penny and Maru in conversation on the couch over a glass of white wine and a Joja cola. On the other side of the bar, Pam sat with a beer while bantering with Gus who was cleaning a beer mug and laughing a hearty laugh. I spotted Leah at a table, perhaps drinking alone over the sketch book she was working on or perhaps waiting for Elliott to arrive so they could chat about how their projects were progressing. Marnie and the mayor were sharing a couple glasses of red, Willy and Clint were chatting over some whiskey and beer, and Shane was in his usual spot alone with his beer.

Emily arrived back at the bar with my drink just then.

“One rum and coke, extra lime,” her bright voice dinged through the room as she placed it on a square napkin in front of me.

“Thanks, Emily.”

I took the cold drink in my hand and was about to head back into the game room when I decided to take a detour over to see Leah. I had spoken to her a couple more times, since Seb left and felt like we might get along, as well as Elliott. Speaking to them had made me realized just how far I had distanced myself from my art, virtually reducing it only to songwriting these days. I used to draw back in college, and thought I might even get my degree in fine arts. I wanted to find ways to incorporate creativity back into my life, now that the band was on hold.

“Hey Leah. How’s it going?” I asked her casually as she finished a sip of pale ale.

“Hey, Andie! Not so bad. Just trying to come up with designs for my next sculpture. Or maybe it’ll be a painting? I’m not really sure.”

I glanced down at her sketches, which mostly were of abstract shapes.

“What are you trying to convey?”

“I guess I don’t know. That’s part of the problem.”

“Yeah, it’s hard when you have nothing to really start from.”

“What about you? Still writing any songs?”

“A little bit, but it’s slowed down quite a lot now that I know we won’t be playing any shows any more.”

“It’s still worth writing for yourself though, right?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s just harder, I guess.”

“Fair enough. I mean, you must have the inspiration at least though, right? You and Sebastian, being so far apart. How many thousands of songs have been written about a love like that? I think you could write great stuff.”

“Yeah, I guess-”

“Or maybe it’s not a song, maybe it’s a drawing, or a painting! Or poetry!” Leah’s eyes lit up as the possibilities flew through her mind. I couldn’t help but giggle, despite the small squirmy sensation in my stomach caused by her comments about Sebastian. I had kinda hoped to forget about the whole thing for a few hours while I was here. When a small town knows your business, that’s what happens I guess.

“I love that you’re so… enthusiastic about this.” She just shrugged in response.

“What can I say? If you ever want some studio space, feel free to come over. I could make some tea, we could chat and work. Or you could just work quietly if you want, I get that too.”

“That’s real nice of you, Leah. I don’t know if I could impose, but that’s so kind-”

“Nonsense, you stop by whenever you want, girl!”

“Thanks. I should probably go make sure those two don’t burn the place down, now,” I said, gesturing towards the game room where Sam and Abigail seemed to be arguing about yet another aspect of their game of pool. She chuckled,

“Yeah, you better.”

I wandered over to the room while chugging the rest of my drink before stepping in to pour some water on this fire.

 

I spent the rest of my time at the saloon playing referee for the next few pool games where winner played someone new each time. I had a couple more drinks during that time, not leaving much space between each one, in a futile attempt to help me get through the night. I don’t think anyone else was aware of how much I drank, otherwise they probably wouldn’t have let me leave the Saloon alone.

I headed out into the blanket of the night and remembered I had brought a flask of my own homemade mead with me, and so started sipping on that. The flask had been a joke gift for my birthday, but it wasn’t without its practical uses. I found myself wandering over to Cindersap Forest. I didn’t really know where I wanted to go, but the secret woods came to mind. I was headed in that direction when I noticed a figure sitting on the edge of the lake just outside the forest. I wasn’t in the mood to chat, and wanted to ignore them so desperately that I was speed-walking past, trying not to let the deep snow stop me, when they called me over.

“Hey, aren’t you the farmer girl?”

I realized from his gruff voice that it was Shane. I also realized from the wavering of his tone that he was quite drunk, as in more that he usually was. As I approached, I noticed a small lantern by his side, illuminating his features just a small bit.

“Uh, yeah.” I hiccupped. “It’s me: the farmer”

“What are you doing out here at this time? It’s real late.”

“I know. I just needed to clear my head, I guess.”

“Bah, I hear that. Wanna have a seat?”

Thoughts of the secret forest quickly left my mind, which was currently highly susceptible to suggestion.

“I guess so,” I said, hesitantly as I took a seat next to him on the edge of the dock. Even in this frigid weather, he was still only wearing cargo shorts and his blue hoodie that he always wore. He didn’t seem the least bit cold either.

“Ugh, life, huh?”

“Yeah… life…” I repeated thoughtlessly.

“You ever feel like… no matter what you do, you’re gonna fail? Just stuck in some… some miserable fucking abyss, and you’re so deep down that you can’t even see the light of day?” he slurred, holding a can of beer towards the lake in a grand gesture.

“Something like that.”

“Yeah, you know what I mean. Like, no matter how hard I try… I’m just not strong enough. Not strong enough to pull myself up and climb out of this fucking hole,” his voice broke just the tiniest bit as he spoke, but was recomposed immediately.

I took a large swig from my flask and continued to stare out into the lake in silence.

“Woman after my own heart. Just don’t make it a habit, like I have. You’ve still got a future ahead of you, kid.”

I briefly wondered how old Shane was. He only looked a bit older than me, but he could have been in his thirties or forties honestly. He mustn’t have been drinking this way for a very long time as his face still looked quite youthful in a sense.

“I don’t even drink usually. I just don’t know what else to do with myself right now. This is twice in a week I’ve drunk like this. I usually prefer pot.”

He nodded somewhat mindlessly as he finished off the can, crunched it in his hand and then tossed it with a couple others at his side.

“Don’t become what I have, Andie.”

I didn’t know that Shane even knew my name. Any time I had tried to speak to him before today, he usually blew me off or ignored me.

“You don’t have to be what you are, Shane. It’s never too late to change, ya know?” I said, propping myself up and steadying myself. The distance from the dock to the water gave me a small bout of vertigo, but I settled myself and started walking back over to the farm.

“You okay to get back on your own?” Shane stuttered, some genuine concern showing through in his voice.

“Yeah, I-I’m fine. I just need some sleep. Yeah, I just gotta sleep this off,” I mumbled as I walked away into the dark of the night.


	29. Chapter 29

I woke up the next morning with the worst headache of my life. I had never experienced anything like it in my 23 years of living. As my consciousness began to return to me, I could feel that I was still wearing my jeans from last night, which probably meant I was still wearing all my clothes from last night. I forced my stiff, heavy eyelids open and saw, not only was I still wearing my t shirt, and my flannel, but also my snow boots which had dampened the blankets at the foot of my bed with dirty melted snow.

I sighed and made a mental note to wash the blankets later as I stood up for the first time that morning, if it even was still morning. Stumbling over to the bathroom to find some painkillers, I remembered to let Honey out and then continued on my way to enter the bathroom to take the pills.

While I waited for the painkillers to take effect, I checked my phone to see the battery extraordinarily low and a few missed messages from Seb that were sent later last night and earlier this morning.

“Yoba,” I exhaled as I clicked on the messages.

_ Hey Andie! How was the Saloon? _

_ Let me know what’s up :p _

 

_ What time do you wanna chat tonight? _

 

 _Might have a work party tonight,_ _  
__let me know your schedule and we’ll_ _  
___work around it all.

 _You still alive? Lol, was Sam buying_ _  
__tequila shots again?_

 

I immediately started on a reply, feeling a pang of guilt in my chest.

_Sorry, phone died last night._ _  
__No plans for tonight so far, so_ _  
___whatever works for you.

 

It was a little white lie, but I didn’t want Seb to worry, as I knew he was wont to do.

I raided my pantry but couldn’t decide what to eat, so I settled on a coffee for now. Maybe I’d eat something heartier for lunch. I had my coffee, then started making my rounds with the animals, collecting eggs from the chickens, milking the cow and the goat. After the animal care was done, I checked on my kegs which I had placed in a shed. Currently they were holding some wine made from blackberries right now. I thought about using different fruits next year to try and make something different, but for now, I had collected tons of blackberries during their season in the Fall, so I froze them all to use them in batches of wine.

Once I had taken care of my farm chores, I decided to head down into the mines yet again, after dropping off some foragables with the junimos. I was so close to the bottom, I could practically taste it - although, it may have just been the brimstone in the air down there. I was practically drenched in sweat leaving the mines now, from all the heat of the lower levels. It was worth it though, as once I made it to the bottom, the elevator would be able to get there as well and anyone could get to whatever level they needed, when they needed it. I even thought of mapping out the mines a bit for the townsfolk, depending on what supplies or materials they might need from it.

 

My overalls and tank top were back on, and I was heading down in the elevator to the last level I had explored, which according to the elevator was level 115. This thing was so deep, I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually led to the underworld and that’s why it was so hot and hellish, smelling like sulfur.

When the elevator doors opened, I was greeted with some void monsters which disappeared with a couple practiced swipes of my sword. I found a couple pieces of gold and stowed them into my bag; they would either be used as materials for my future sprinkler system, or as a gift to Maru. I continued down.

A couple more levels found me swarmed by red slimes, but I was determined that today would be the day that I made it to the bottom. I must have been so close by now. With a few more swipes, the slimes splattered into smaller, inanimate bits of slime. A few more pieces of gold, some quartz and some geodes were scattered around on this level. I picked them up and stowed them away as well.

I could feel a layer of sweat dripping from my hairline under my bangs, around my ears and at the back of my neck, as well as from my underarms and under my breasts. Even the back of my knees seemed to be drenched, overheating from being crouched and from having the heat held in by the long bottoms of the overalls. I had to keep going now.

A couple more levels, more geodes of the lava variety, and some shadow shamans and grunts. A few more treasures were found, including a diamond, when I finally found the ladder that led down from there.

The next level was almost empty except for a chest, and the elevator shaft. I was feeling a little beat up from the monsters, which had bruised and scratched me up, and I was tired from swinging my sword and pickaxe over the last five levels. My sweat had drenched my hair, which was almost completely damp as if I had just gotten out of the shower, and my tank top was covered in sweat stains. The sight of them made me woozy. I was losing liquids pretty fast, I realized, as I approached the chest and opened it.

It was a stardrop. I smiled, and began to eat it. I felt like I was almost in a trance. Something wasn’t right, I looked back down at how much sweat I was losing, and that’s when I remembered that I had been drinking alcohol last night and had had a coffee this morning. I was probably really dehydrated. Not to mention I had forgotten to eat lunch.

The room felt like it was spinning around me as I took the last bite of the stardrop and held my hands around my head, trying to make it stop. I sat down on the ground and leaned back, trying to regain some semblance of control - just enough so that I could book it out of here. It just wasn’t working though.

The room continued to spin until my vision began to go fuzzy, like television static.

“No, please, no.”

The wooziness hit its peak as my vision went to grey, and then ultimately to black as I lost consciousness at the bottom of the mines, with no one else around.

 

I woke up to a vision of white: a white room, with white walls and a white ceiling, and someone wearing something white too I think. The only exception was some kind of green curtain nearby.

“Andie? Are you awake?”

I let out a groan, somewhat unconsciously, not really sure if it was of pain or confusion.

“Are you alright?” a different voice asked.

My vision was blurry, but I could just barely make out two figures standing up next to me: one shorter and with darker skin, and the other a little taller and pale.

“Where am I?” I mumbled, though I felt I probably knew the answer.

“It’s Doctor Harvey, and you’re at the clinic right now,” he said, putting some kind of pressure on my arm from a device I still couldn’t see properly.

“Do you remember what happened?” the other voice asked. I now realized it was Maru, who must’ve been helping out Harvey as she often did.

“I, uh… I was in the mines.”

“You were severely dehydrated, Andie. And the heat from the lower levels of the mines accelerated the dehydration even further,” Harvey explained. “We’re currently giving you fluid intravenously, just so you’re aware.”

“Okay,” I said, pausing and looking around the room once more. “I can’t see anything… Who found me down there?”

“That would be me,” another voice appeared at my other side. I turned to see a vague stark of purple hair.

“Abigail? You saved me?”

“Yep! Not bad, eh?”

“Heh,” I giggled, perhaps harder than made sense.

The whole situation just seemed so strange, so surreal, like it was all a dream. I knew it wasn’t only because of the feelings around my body, the sensation of the tube feeding my veins, the shuffling of Harvey and Maru around me, and the presence of Abigail. It didn’t seem like the kind of thing I would dream about, or the level of reality that my dreams usually had.

“What’s so funny?” Maru asked with a confused chuckle of her own.

“I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. This is all just so strange.”

I took in some deep breaths as my vision slowly cleared up just a little bit, so that I could make out their faces by now. My eyes still didn’t feel quite right, but I could see now.

I could see well enough to notice Abigail was holding my phone.

“What are you doing with that?”

“Oh, sorry, Seb was sending you messages. I just wanted to let him know you were fine.”

“You didn’t tell him what happened, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. Why can’t I?”

“I just… don’t want him to think he needs to come back to, I dunno, take care of me or something.”

“He deserves to know the truth, Andie. He cares about you.”

“No, don’t tell him about this, please.”

“You don’t think he’ll notice if you aren’t able to talk to him for a day or two while you recuperate?”

“I can still text. Give me my phone, Abby,” I asked, holding out my left hand towards her.

“I think you should rest for now. You can think about this later. I told him you’re okay, you just can’t talk right now, and I told him I’d explain later. You need to worry about yourself right now. Don’t you realize how serious this is?”

“Give me my phone, Abby.”

“You need to rest.”

“Don’t make me argue, please. Give me the phone.”

“What if no one found you, huh? What if you died down there! I’d be texting Seb to come back home right now for your funeral,” her voice broke into sobs right then, but she continued on. “You wanna act like everything’s fine, when it’s not fucking fine, Andie! It’s not fucking fine!”

“I don’t care about me, I just want him to be happy,” I said, breaking down into tears over my cracked voice.

“You don’t get it, Andie! You have to care about you, because he cares about you. That’s how this shit works. How do you think he’d feel if something serious happened to you? Do you think he’d be fucking happy then?” she cried, wiping her sleeves over her eyes and drenching them in the water from her eyes.

“Why do you care so much, Abby? Why do you care so much about what happens to us? Why can’t you mind your own business?” I yelled back, aware that Harvey and Maru were standing off to the side, watching cautiously in case they needed to intervene.

“You’re my fucking friends and I love you.” She stood up as she said, as if ready to leave the room and end the conversation there. “Why won’t you let us help you, Andie? What the fuck is wrong with you? We care about you!”

“Well, no one asked you to.” I immediately regretted saying it when I saw the look in her eyes. It was both furious and broken; the same eyes of this girl I had been good friends with, glaring at me as if I was some disgusting monster. And I deserved it. And I knew that I deserved it.

“Here’s your fucking phone,” she slammed it down on a nearby desk and stormed off out of the room. I could have sworn I saw actual wisps of dark clouds around her head with electricity coming from it.

It was quiet in the room. I breathed in deeply in an attempt to calm the strain in my voice. My throat had gotten sore once the tears started, but it was beginning to calm down. I saw Maru turn to Harvey for a second before removing her work hat and following Abigail out of the room. Harvey grinned at me awkwardly before gulping and going back to the charts in his hand.

 

I was out of the clinic the next day, with recommendations on how much water to drink and to eat foods heavy in liquids for the next few days or weeks, and to avoid caffeine or alcohol. I was reading through the release paper with a sigh before tucking it away in my bag. I was craving a cigarette, oddly enough. It wasn’t a craving I’d had in a while. Only a week ago, the smell had made me a little sick to my stomach. Nonetheless, I wanted one right now.

I was about to enter Pierre’s when I considered the possibility that Abigail might be hanging out and I might run into her. I veered past Pierre’s shop and headed for Joja Mart instead, crossing the bridge over the river and walking through the automated doors into the pristine white supermarket.

I was about to walk up to Leah, who was working at the cash register in order to make ends meet between commissions, when I saw Shane shelving products down an aisle. I thought back to our little chat a couple nights ago. Would he act like he had no idea who I was again? Still, something compelled me to approach him.

“Ah, the town farmer, yes? Annie was it?” Morris, the Joja representative managing this location called, trying to gain my attention in his strange, debonair, come-hither voice that felt so rehearsed and fake.

“That’s not my name, and I’m not interested in a membership.”

“I can see why you got fired from Joja. An attitude like that couldn’t be allowed to fly at corporate.”

I paused mid-step, wondering who would have told him about me working at Joja, but also why on Yoba’s green Earth he would talk to me like that. I wasn’t normally the confrontational type, but I could feel the anger seething within my stomach, bubbling like a cauldron of red hot potion, while my face felt steaming hot and tense. I wanted to keep walking, but it was as if I was taken over by another being in that moment; one who couldn’t take an insult without fighting back.

I pivoted on my back foot to face him, as he finished a hearty laugh at his own comments.

“Heheheh,” I mocked loudly, trying to imitate his laugh and show him how stupidly dim it sounded. “I didn’t get fired, I quit. You would too, if you had any ounce of self-respect. But of course you don’t, look at you. Look at how you’re dressed: it’s like your mother still dresses you. Did she pick that outfit out for you? No one in this town wants you here, Morris. It’s the saddest thing, and I don’t know if you get off on being hated or if you just hide it well. It depresses me to look at you regardless. You’re everything I hate about Joja, about Zuzu City, about people in general. And I hope you know that the town’s people feel much the same way.”

I came out of my ranting, ending off with my finger pointed at his nose accusingly. His face was one of shock, with his mouth hanging open dumbfoundedly and one arm up as if to defend himself in case I got too physical.

“What is wrong with you?” he gasped.

“What’s wrong with me? No, what’s wrong with you. These people here are happy, then you come along and try to ruin their businesses and get them to buy your expensive ass memberships. How dare you? How fucking dare you? Never speak to me again, because I know exactly what you are and I am not afraid to unleash your worst fears upon you.”

I stormed off down the aisle I had originally been heading towards, not an ounce of regret in my thoughts, and found myself approaching Shane as I had meant to all along. At first he seemed confused about someone standing so close to him and seemed to assume I was Morris.

“What can I do for you, sir?” he recited tiredly before looking back from where he was crouched to see that it was actually me standing there and not his boss. “Oh, it’s you. Did you need something?” his gruff voice asked.

“I talked to your boss a bit. Maybe he can make your life a little better from now on. Why do you even work here?” I asked, looking around at all the pristinely stacked shelves and spotless floors.

“You… you did what? I work here because need money, same as everyone else.”

“Alright. How are you doing? I just wanted to check on you. After that night, I was worried.” I realized I had been speaking in a rather monotone voice, coming off colder than I meant to perhaps, but I just couldn’t stop myself. There was a kind of power in how I was being perceived at this very moment.

“I-I’m fine, thanks.”

“Okay. I just wanted to see-”

“A-Are you okay, Andie? You don’t seem… right. I mean, I don’t know you that well but… you always seemed to be so nice to everyone.”

“I’m fine. Anyways, I need to go make sure my farm is okay, see you around,” I said, turning about and huffing back down the aisle.

“Y-yeah, okay, bye.”

I ignored making eye contact with Morris and turned to Leah at the counter, who was leafing through some sort of art magazine of artists from around Ferngill. I approached her, wallet out.

“Can I get a pack of Malbras please?” I asked her politely, in an attempt to regain my cool. I figured I’d go with my standard brand from back in the city.

“Oh, hey Andie. Sure thing. Hard day?” she asked, as she reached in a cabinet underneath her booth and pulled out the familiar red and white pack.

“Something like that.”

I paid and then returned home, stopping along the path by the clearing to take the first cig out of the pack and lit it. The smoke filled my lungs, and soon I could feel the nicotine bringing my brain to life just a little bit. It tasted terrible, and I loved it. As I stepped up the porch to the cabin, I could hear Honey barking at the sound of footsteps. I opened the door to let her out for a pee and then made my way over to the chicken coop, tossing the finished filter into the snow by the gate.

The chickens were curious to see me and approached cautiously. I stroked their feathers, making sure both of them got a turn and then pulled my phone out to check my messages quickly. There were a few more texts from Sebastian which I read while using my other hand to transfer some hay into the birds’ feeding trough.

 

 _Hey, Andie, I don’t know what’s_ _  
__going on. Please text me soon :)_

 

 _Hey, are you ignoring me? Are you_ _  
__okay? I don’t know what’s up._ _  
___Abby said you’d explain everything.

 

“Abby, yobadammit.” Why did she have to tell him that?

Once the trough was full of hay, I headed over to take care of the cows and goat, then headed back into the cabin. I rubbed my eyes tiredly, realizing my fingers still stunk of cigarette, and decided to start boiling some soup. Doctor Harvey had suggested it as a good meal to get liquids in my body, so I may as well oblige.

I flipped the television to Queen of Sauce and watched her creating a delicious chocolate cake, immediately becoming envious that I was stuck with soup for now. I took my laptop out and set it on my dining table, opening my video chat application. There was no way Seb would answer as he was at work, so my plan was to try calling, let it go to missed call while he was working and then tell him later that I tried calling while I worked out what on Earth I was going to say or do.

Seemed solid to me.

I took in a deep breath as I hit the call button.

It made its beeping sound like it was trying to connect. There was no way Seb would have his chat app open at work, no way. It beeped once more. Then, to my surprise, the message on screen went from ‘Calling…’ to ‘Connecting!’

“No, no no no.” I stared at the red cancel button, seriously considering it for a second, when all of a sudden the call connected and I was face to face with Sebastian, wearing a dark grey button-up shirt and his hair tied back into a lazy man bun to keep it out of his face as he typed. His hair still stuck out at all sides from where it was held together in an elastic.

His face immediately pulled into a smile as he saw my image show up on his screen.

“Yoba, Andie, you don’t text for a whole day, not even to say you’re busy, and then you call out of nowhere? Good thing I was waiting to hear from you, otherwise I wouldn’t have had the app open.”

I was counting on it, I thought to myself. I noticed he was whispering. He wasn’t supposed to be chatting at work, but he wanted to make sure he would catch me however I decided to contact him.

“I don’t mind if you don’t want to talk for a day or so, but at least let me know what’s up,” he said with a quiet laugh.

“Seb, I-I’m fine.”

“For you to be saying that means that at some point you weren’t fine?” he questioned rather nonchalantly. “What happened yesterday?”

“I didn’t mean to worry you. I-I went to the mines yesterday, as usual.” That would seem normal enough, I knew. I still wasn’t sure how much to tell. I just didn’t want him to worry or come back home. “And… I found something for you.”

“Is it another frozen tear? I literally have like ten of those by now, you know you don’t have to give me every one that you find, right?” he laughed. “Is… is that all? It seemed like there was something else.”

I thought for a moment, staring at the screen, then down at the keyboard before responding,

“No, that’s all. Abby was just drunk yesterday. We went to the Saloon again and she stole my phone. She thought it would be funny.”

“Oh, okay,” he exhaled through his nose heavily as he looked around the room he was in, which I couldn’t see. “If that’s all, can we talk again later? I really need to get back to work.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Talk to you later, Seb.”

“Talk to you later,” he said, ending the call.

I released a deep exhale of my own and turned my attention back to the room I was sitting in. My water for my soup was boiling while Honey was sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace, and to one side of my laptop was the pack of cigarettes I had just bought.

I turned to my shelf to spy my prized glass bong and decided tonight was a good time to take it out again.

After dinner, I smoked a couple bowls and watched some episodes of the Queen of Sauce as a marathon played on the cooking channel. I let Honey up onto the couch and she leaned her head onto my lap as I ate some strawberry ice cream directly out of the container and patted her head from time to time.


	30. Chapter 30

The next day, I woke up still on the couch with one of my blankets wrapped around me. Sunlight flooded the room from the blinds I had forgotten to close yesterday before falling asleep. I spotted my bong sitting on the coffee table, burnt bits and ash sitting in the bowl from last night. Honey was sleeping in the crook of my legs, curled up against the back of my knees.

I had slept in a little bit longer than usual I realized, checking the time on my phone. I had some messages from Sebastian and Sam, oddly enough. The one from Seb just said that he’d be home from work at his usual time if we wanted to chat. The one from Sam was the curious one,

_ Sup Andie! ;p _

_Wondering if you wanted to jam_ _  
__with Abby and I later today?_

 

Did Abby know Sam was inviting me? I couldn’t imagine her accepting, knowing I would be involved. I remembered all the instruments were in my family room. They would both have to come over here. Was I ready to see Abigail again though?

I really wanted to make up with her. I might not agree with her, but there was no use in us fighting. I replied back to Sam, asking if Abby was okay with the idea and he gave me the okay so I assumed she was ready to make up as well. I sighed deeply as I sent him a ‘Yes’ and got to work on feeding the animals.

 

Before they could arrive, I decided to buy some chips and sodapop from Pierre’s and some sushi from the Saloon to snack on. I set everything up on plates, and set napkins up as well as three glasses of water on the coffee table of the room. I was desperate to make it seem like I was trying to make a good impression on Abigail, to show her that I held no grudge.

In order to assuage my nerves I lit a joint and opened up all the windows in that room to air out the smell. Before I could get through smoking it, there was a loud, obnoxious knock at my door.

“Fire Quartz is back in action! Well, minus one member,” Sam called through the closed door. I stood at the top of the stairs and called back,

“Door’s unlocked!”

I watched as Sam strode in confidently, wearing his usual upbeat gait and his guitar on his back. Abigail, however, entered the room wringing her hands together anxiously, pausing only to remove her jacket and black toque. She was also biting her lip, I noticed. Sam gestured to the coffee mug and cigarette pack on my counter.

“Coffee and cigarettes? Are you becoming Seb?” he joked with a laugh. I chuckled back weakly, trying to decide what to say to Abigail as the two of them came up the set of stairs into the room.

Sam ran over to his amplifier and plugged in immediately, testing out his guitar.

“I missed you, baby,” he said to the motionless amp.

“I’m sure it misses you too,” I quipped before turning to face Abigail, who was still playing with her hands as she eyed her familiar drum kit. I took a drag of my joint, finishing it, and pinched the blaze out before sitting the roach onto a napkin for now. I tried to make sure my body still faced the center of the room.

I wanted to make eye contact with Abigail, but she wouldn’t look at me.

“A-…” I tried to start as my voice cracked. I coughed a bit and cleared my throat. “A-I, uh, I… bought some snacks, heh,” I said, gesturing at the food on the table.

“Thanks, Andie! You’re the best! I’ll wait ‘til later so I don’t get my guitar dirty.” Not to stereotype, but this blonde seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Abby and I still hadn’t said a word to each other.

I’d hoped she’d say something about the food, but she said nothing. She just stood there, a slight sadness in her eyes.

“A-Abby?” I finally managed to force her name out of my mouth. She hesitated, but she turned to face me back, at last. “Are… how’ve you been? Are you okay?”

“Am I… okay?” she asked incredulously. At least she finally spoke.

“I’m sorry, Abby. I would understand if you’re mad at me still. I hope you can forgive me though. Can I explain?”

“I guess,” she said monotonely. It stung a bit to hear her speak like that to me. We had been so close since I moved here.

“I’m not right, Abby. Something’s wrong with me.”

“No shit.”

“I haven’t been myself lately.” It sounded like I was spouting a string of loosely related excuses, but I wasn’t lying. “Sometimes I get weird, I get mean and I don’t mean to. It’s been so long since this happened last.”

She seemed unsure of what to say next, and I didn’t blame her.

“I’m an asshole sometimes. I’ve tried so hard to learn how not to be, but lately that side of me has just been coming out more and I don’t know why.”

“I think it’s pretty obvious why.”

“Wha-What do you mean?”

“You want Seb back. I get it, Andie. I get that.”

“I’m so sorry, Abby. That’s no excuse.”

“Damn right, it’s not!” she said, crossing her arms and tapping one foot on the ground as she seemed to be in her thoughts. “Look, I forgive you, okay? But you’re not acting normal lately. Maybe you should, like, talk to someone or something?”

All I cared about right now was that she forgave me. That lifted one worry off my chest for today.

“Let’s get this jam session started, right?”

“Yeah, let’s play.” Caution still lurked in her voice, but it at least seemed like she was trying to put this behind us, which I appreciated.

When we had played through our old Fire Quartz songs, minus the sound of Sebastian’s skilled keyboard, Sam tasked me with working on some more songs that we could play as a trio. I accepted gladly. I went to the Stardrop Saloon that night to have some rum in celebration.

 

A couple days later, I found myself back in the secret woods with my notebook. It wasn’t snowing today but, with the ground still covered, I decided to stay standing as I scribbled down ideas.

After a while of writing, I found myself singing aloud to one of my favourite songs,

_Gotta find my way, away from this place._ _  
__Can you take me now?_

_ I, I want it. I want it real, _

_ Are you afraid of me now? _

_ Are you afraid of me now? _

 

_ Do you feel it? Do you feel it? _

_ Do you feel that I can see your soul? _

 

All of a sudden, I wished Sebastian was here and I could show him the song. Maybe he’d like it. Even if he didn’t, it described how I felt right now, I realized.

I sighed as I looked down at the frozen pond. I was reminded of the Festival of Ice which took place a couple days ago. I entered the ice fishing competition, but lost to Willy because of course Willy won. After the event, most of the town went back to the Saloon to buy some hot food and drinks. I decided to join for a while before retiring back to my cabin with a glass of my mead to watch some TV with Honey at my side.

Today, though, the top layer of the still pond was frozen over, unlike the holes we’d fished from that day. It almost looked thick enough to walk on, but I didn’t dare try.

I continued to sing for myself as I decided to head home for the evening. Part way through, I pulled out a cigarette and lit it for the rest of my walk back and took the first harsh inhale of the smoke, letting it flow back out into the cold breeze. I coughed on the exhale a bit but didn’t mind too much. I finished it just as I passed one of the ponds on my land and tossed it into the snow, hearing it sizzle out, as I approached my front porch. My clothes stunk like smoke.

By the time I changed into my sweatpants and sat myself in front of the television, I had gone through a variety of songs which I sung aloud, simultaneously for practice and because they just came into my mind. I was finishing up my rendition of ‘Hourglass’ by Catfish and the Bottlemen as I searched through the movies available to stream, but nothing seemed to pique my interest right now. I continued to scroll anyways until the sound of a received text message interrupted.

Naturally, it was Sebastian asking to video chat. Finding something to watch had been a futile effort anyway, so I grabbed my laptop from my room and sat back down on the couch, sending a video chat request.

He accepted quickly and soon we were face-to-face.

“Hey, Seb!” I said, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear as I felt a smile pull on my face.

“Hi Andie. How’s your day been?”

“Not bad. Sam is still desperate to keep the band going so I’ve been writing some new songs.”

“Sam,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes with one hand. “Well, write anything cool lately?”

“I don’t know yet. I still have more work to do. I can play them for you next time you come back.”

“You want me to come back soon?”

“I didn’t say it had to be soon. I do really miss you though.”

“You do? I miss you too.”

“Of course I do, you nerd. I love you.” I chuckled and clasped my hands together.

“I love you too. Which is why I have to tell you that Abigail called me the other day.”

Suddenly, my blood ran cold like a slush. I could feel my nerves firing off all over my body creating small muscle twitches in my arms and legs. The tone in his voice told me exactly what I needed to know, Abigail told him something I hadn’t. I can only imagine what the expression on my face must have looked like.

“Andie?”

“W-What did Abby say?”

He licked his lips and looked into my eyes. It didn’t seem like he was planning to say anything horrible. I felt like his face, stoic as ever, would show it more if he was. I still felt apprehensive though.

“She told me that you were… acting out, or something? That you yelled at her, and you’re getting drunk at the saloon and smoking cigarettes. If this is your way of getting me to come back, it’s fucking insane Andie. You could just say you want me in Pelican Town, you know? I thought you trusted me more than this,” he explained irritatedly. I watched him rub his eyes tiredly again as he seemed to wonder if he should speak or wait for me to speak.

“No, not at all Seb! I do trust you. Although I apparently can’t trust Abigail.”

“This isn’t about Abby, okay? Forget about that for a second. Why couldn’t you just tell me instead of acting like… a dramatic teenager or something?”

“I don’t know why I’m being like this, Seb. Really, everything’s just fine and-” I tried to come up with an explanation but he interrupted me.

“Well, no, it’s clearly not fine though. Something’s wrong. You told me you used to struggle with depression, so I’m sure you can imagine what’s going through my head right now, Andie. I’m worried about you.”

“You don’t have to, really, I’m fine-”

“Stop saying you’re fine when you’re not fucking fine!” I had never heard him speak like that before. He had a strong conviction in his tone as he tried to make sure I was really listening so he could make his point. “It’s okay if you’re not fine, and it’s okay if you need me back there. It might take me a few days to work it out with the company, but I can figure it out. We can figure this out. I’m coming back as soon as I can. Do you want me to call Harvey to get you a therapist or something meanwhile?”

Though his voice carried a certain strength, it was a calm strength which had a confidence about it. When he said that it was okay, I believed him. My nerves had calmed down a bit as his words soothed my worries.

“I don’t want a therapist. I just want you. But not if you still have a life that needs to be lived in the city.”

“You do not worry about that, okay? That’s not for you to worry about. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do, trust me. I’ll come visit as soon as possible. I’m thinking I’ll be there on Saturday. Will you be okay until then?”

“Y-Yes.” I took in a deep breath. “Seb?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Andie. That’s why I need you to take especially good care of yourself for the next few days. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Seb. I’ll take care.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

 

The next day, Sam begged us to make time for another jam session so we managed to plan it for that evening. Sam and Abigail arrived with a box of pizza from the saloon, which we started eating before our practice.

Abigail had a guilty look on her face, wary of my every move. I wonder if she thought her telling Sebastian about me would make me react volatilely to her. I’ll admit, I was unhappy, but I really didn’t want to start a fight again since we had just made up. It didn’t feel great to have one of your closest friends glaring at you like you might act out at any moment, but I was determined to behave tonight.

In the middle of playing through one of the new songs I had written, my phone started ringing. It took a few seconds to hear the sound over Abigail’s drums in my ears but, after catching a blink of the sound, I held an arm out to tell Sam and Abby to stop playing for a moment. I expected it to be Sebastian out of habit so I was surprised to see that the call was from my parents. I briefly thought of calling back later instead of answering, but I knew my mom and I didn’t want her to worry.

“One second guys, I gotta take this. It’s my parents.”

Sam, who had been fiddling with his guitar, stopped suddenly to let me speak in silence. Abigail also put her drumsticks aside before taking her phone out to scroll through it a bit. I tapped the answer button and brought the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey honey! It’s mom,” my mom squeaked in excitement at hearing my voice.

“Hi mom! How are you? I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, sweetie! I want to see you! Will you be coming home for Winter Star?”

“I can’t, mom. I don’t have anyone to watch the animals, and there’s also been so many other things happening, I just… You could come here though. I’ve got so much space, the farm is massive. I could set up a room for you both,” I returned, figuring that was what we had discussed way back when we spoke after our first gig in the city.

“I’d love that, sweetie. Your dad can’t get time off work, but I was thinking, if you did invite us, maybe I could get your sister to come too?”

“Doesn’t Serena have a Winter Star brunch filled with business executives to go to?” I felt guilty about the bit of venom in my voice. I knew I held more resentment about my sister’s success than she deserved, but I had also usually been better at being civil about it. I needed to behave, I reminded myself.

“No, Andie. She really wants to get away from the city for a while, so I told her I’d see if you were okay with it.”

“Is she bringing her boyfriend?”

“Fiance, and no.”

“Fiance. Of course. Of fucking course.” Behave, I reminded myself again.

“You didn’t know she got engaged?”

“Nope.”

“I know how you feel Andie, but-”

“No, it’s fine. I’m happy for her, really. I’ve just been a bit on edge lately. Anyways, I may as well tell you that I… I actually have a boyfriend now.”

“Oh, that makes me happy to hear Andie. You’ll have to introduce us!”

“He’s been working in the city, but hopefully he’ll be back for the holidays. I’ll explain when you get here. Anyways, you know what? Sure, Serena can come. Maybe I’ll have a Winter Star Eve party or something. I’ll invite the town and you can meet everyone. When do you wanna arrive? A few days early?”

“Yeah! Let me check the calendar… So it looks like Winter Star is on Wednesday, so we’ll arrive Monday? Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that should be fine. You’ll stay for, like, a week?”

“Yeah, as long as that’s okay. I know you’re busy and all.”

“It’s fine. Besides, I’ve missed you. And Serena,” I added, thoughtfully trying to be respectful. As long as I was making amends with Abby, maybe it was time to patch things up with my sister too.

“I’m so excited! Okay, I’ll see you then honey! Love you!”

“Love you, mom. See you then!”

“Goodbye!”

“Bye!”

I tapped the ‘end call’ button and put my phone back down on the coffee table. Running my hands through my hair, pulling through the fluffy indigo strands stressfully as I began considering plans for that week. It would be nice to get Robin to add a room, rather than moving all the band stuff out of this room or relegating someone to the couch.

It would also mean buying another bed or two. I had some money saved up for a situation like this, but it would mean I wouldn’t be able to upgrade my feeding system for the coop or barn and I’d have to continue feeding the animals by hand, which wasn’t too bad. The hand feeding was good for the animals after all as it gave them some social time; I could keep doing that a little longer.

I turned around and remembered Abigail and Sam were still here, fiddling with the instruments and phones a bit while waiting for me to mentally rejoin them.

Sam caught that I was eying them once more.

“So, are we having a Winter Star Eve party?” he asked, holding his arms up animatedly.

“We? No, we are not. I am. Maybe.”

“Yes! Hear that Abby, we’re having a Winter Star Eve party!”

“I heard,” Abigail called over, not looking up from her phone.

“No, no we are not. Why do you suddenly want to throw a party?” I asked him, confused as to why he wanted to be included so badly.

“What do you mean? I’ve always wanted to throw a big party, and the farm is a perfect space! Nightshade Farm is massive! I’ll be in charge of the booze and-”

“Oh, I see, you just wanna get riggity-riggity-wrecked,” I said, laughing.

“Well, yeah,” he said as though it were obvious. Abigail chuckled from behind her phone, as did I to Sam’s face.

“Okay, look, you can help out, but I’m in charge. My house, my rules.”

“Ugh, fine. I guess.”

“Alright then. Start planning, Sam.”


	31. Chapter 31

I went to Robin the next day to give her money and supplies to start on a guest room. She said she could have it ready next week, a few days before my mom and sister arrive, giving me time to get the extra furniture set up after it was sent in from the catalogue.

While Robin prepared some paperwork and a page for blueprints, I turned around and caught sight of the doorway of the stairs that led down to Sebastian’s room. A couple days until he would be home, I reminded myself. Just a few more days, I told myself.

“Hey, Robin? Is it okay if I just head down into Seb’s room for a minute? He let me borrow a book from a series and I wanted to get the third one from him.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure that’s fine. You’re one of the few people I would allow in there alone. He told me he’s coming back on Saturday! I’m so excited to see him again,” she said, perking up.

“I am too,” I said, feeling some warm heat flushing my cheeks. “I’ll just be a second.”

I headed down the stairs into the dark basement and opened the door to the room, untouched for about a week and a half. It really hadn’t been that long, I realized, since Sebastian had left. Was I really that weak about my emotions? I resented so much that I had been acting this way, and yet I was struggling to stop. Even knowing he was coming back, I felt off still. Maybe it wasn’t just about him. What else it could be, I didn’t know, but I preferred thinking about it that way to thinking I was some lovesick fool.

As I looked around the room, the same one where we had played Solarian Chronicles, kissed on the couch, and cuddled each other to sleep, I felt my heart ache. Seb was coming back home because of me, giving up his dream for me. The guilt that I felt was perhaps the real culprit in all this.

I found my way over to the bookshelf. Some of it had been cleaned out so that Seb could bring them along with him, but the series I had been reading was left untouched. I had the second one in my bag, so I pulled it out, replaced it on the shelf and and removed the third installment. I flipped through it for a moment, reading the synopsis on the inside cover.

Shoving it back in my bag, I headed back upstairs to rejoin Robin and we finalized the blueprints and contract.

I returned home to Honey and set up the fireplace and took a seat on my couch, curling up with the new book against my knees. I tried to read, but simply couldn’t concentrate. It was getting dark out. I sighed, closing the book and placing it on the coffee table. On a whim, I decided to head out and I found myself at the Saloon once again.

I took a seat at the bar, making eye contact with Emily, who nodded and started preparing my usual rum and coke, extra lime. I said ‘hello’ to Gus, who noticed me between pouring out beers. Suddenly, someone sat down beside me. I turned over to see it was Shane, sipping on a tall beer, probably not his first of the evening.

“Hey, kid,” he said, side-eyeing me before taking another sip.

“Hey,” I said quietly. “H-How’s it going?”

“Eh,” he simply responded. “How about you? I heard through the grapevine that your goth boy is coming back soon.”

“Yeah. I can’t wait to see him again,” I said, though my voice didn’t portray much excitement due to all my guilty thoughts that arose whenever Seb was brought up lately.

“You don’t sound excited.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Well, I’ve got nothing to do. Besides, I told you a bit about what’s been up with me.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to speak with Shane of all people, but he was one of the people that were outside of our situation enough to perhaps understand the feelings I had been experiencing.

“Well, I didn’t really want him to come back so soon. I want him to enjoy himself in the city, ya know? I want him to live out his dreams. What if he never goes back and his dreams are ruined all because I couldn’t handle him leaving?”

“Oof. That’s some shit.”

“Yeah. I’ve just been feeling like hot garbage lately. I want him to come home so badly, but I don’t want him to… feel like he’s missing out on some life that’s out there - something he’ll never get here, in Pelican Town.”

Shane nodded as he downed the last of his beer. He eyed my finished drink, now just a glass of ice which I stirred mindlessly causing the crunchy sounds of the water crystals. He held out two fingers to Emily and pointed at his and my drink. She gave me a concerned look, but nodded and started preparing the two new drinks.

“I don’t know. It’s just a mess, and I haven’t been myself lately. I just don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Have you ever considered talking to someone?” he asked all of a sudden, as two new drinks were placed in front of us and he lifted his beer to his mouth.

“Have you?” I retorted, with a huff.

“Touche, kid. But seriously, I know things seem hard right now, but when that boy comes back, you’re gonna be happy and live a nice life together, maybe pop out a few vampire babies.”

I now realized why a lot of the women in town avoided Shane as I instantly felt awkward hearing him say that. I always hated when men spoke like the women just popped out children, like it was some easy deal. He seemed relatively harmless, just a little old fashioned in a way I didn’t like. I did find the vampire babies bit amusing, however.

“They’re actually going to be demon babies,” I quipped back defensively. “You’re the third person to ask me about seeing a therapist. Maybe I should. I don’t know if I can afford it right now though.”

“It’s hard to see through the haze of melancholy and that shit, but I think you’re gonna be fine. You’ve got so much more potential than I ever did.”

“You give me too much credit, and yourself not enough.” I didn’t really care much for Shane based on my experiences so far, but he clearly suffered from depression as well and I didn’t want him to think he was just this terrible, irredeemable monster. “I’m sure Marnie really appreciates your help on the ranch, and with Jas. It might not feel like some great destiny or anything, but it’s important. It’s up to you to find your destiny.”

“One year at the Fall Festival, Welwick told me my so-called ‘destiny’ would reveal itself. It sure don’t seem like it’ll happen. Yoba sure isn’t any help these days.”

“Yoba is just a concept, it’s your life and you’ve gotta take charge, Shane. You can’t just wait on something that might not ever happen.”

“Thanks for being all philosophical, kid. It’s more complicated than that though,” he said before going quiet for a while.

Shane bought a couple more rounds of drinks, and a couple rounds of shots for us as we continued to give half-baked advice and whine about our woes for the evening.

“Ah, man. I can’t be this much of a wreck when Sebastian gets back. I need to pull myself together,” I slurred, placing the shot glass upside down on the bar with a thump.

“Well, this ain’t a great start,” he said, stifling a beer burp inside his cheeks. I sighed loudly, leaning onto my propped up arm.

“You’re tellin’ me. I’ve got my mom coming into town in a week and a half too. I don’t want her to see me this much of a fuckin’ mess. Ugh,” I groaned, rubbing at my eyes and nose. Feeling my septum ring was crooked, I adjusted it quickly before looking back around at the current status of our drinks.

“Why d’you wear that thing in your nose anyway? You look like a cow,” he commented, taking a gulp.

“Maybe I like looking like a cow,” I quipped back finishing off my most recent rum and coke before trying to get Emily’s attention once again.

“Another one, Andie? You’ve had quite a lot.”

“Last one, I promise.”

“Will you be able to get home after this one?”

“Nothing happens in towns like this. I’ll be fine,” I said, holding a hand out towards the rest of the saloon to gesture to the townspeople.

I guess she considered the townspeople pretty trustworthy because she poured me another.

“You’re cut off after this. I don’t wanna see you half-dead tomorrow because I over-served you.”

“Thanks, Em.” I grinned up at her before taking the drink she handed me.

“Ugh, I should probably head home soon. I gotta help Jas with… I think math homework tomorrow.”

“I hate math, like, why bother,” I whined in an annoying voice.

“Eh, it can be annoying but it’s useful.”

“I guess. Occasionally. Almost never,” I giggled sluggishly.

All of a sudden, I heard someone call my name.

“There you are, Andie!” I turned around to see Sam and Abigail enter the saloon.

“Oh hey, guys,” I slurred as I almost slid right off the stool. “What are you up to?”

“Oh my god, you’re completely pissed,” Abigail said holding a hand to her head, frustratedly.

“H-Hey, Andie. Well, this is awkward, but we came to get you because we have a surprise for you,” Sam said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“A surprise? For me? No way,” I giggled eyeing between them.

“Yep. We’re also gonna take you home right after, because you need to sleep this off,” Abigail continued on, seeming annoyed that she had to deal with me again.

“You don’t need to take me, I can walk on my own.” Many of my words were beginning to stick to each other, not being totally coherent.

I attempted to step off the stool and my leg almost gave out below me. Sam hurried to my side to help me steady myself.

“Oh, I cannot wait to see how this goes over,” he commented half-sarcastically and half-mischievously, helping me hobble over to the door.

“Take good care of her,” Emily called over to Abby and Sam.

“We will,” Abigail called over.

We stumbled into the middle of the dimly lit plaza, only the few streetlamps creating any light at all aside from the moon and the stars.

“Where we goin’?” I asked lazily, trying to focus on moving my legs. I noticed we were headed in the direction of the path to the farm. “Home? Aw, my home isn’t a surprise. You guys suck.”

“Just be patient, I promise it’ll be worth it,” Sam said quietly into my ear. Abigail was a few paces ahead on the path.

Just when my foggy, swirling brain was certain we were simply headed home, we turned into the clearing by the side of the highway. I was struggling to maintain consciousness at this point. I faintly heard Abigail speak, saying,  
“Well, we’re here!”

“A-Andie?” an almost unfamiliar voice asked. I forced my eyes open to gaze upon whatever it was they were trying to get me to see.

There was another person in the clearing with us.

“She was… drinking,” Abigail explained.

“With Shane, I feel the need to add,” Sam continued.

“Oh Yoba. Andie?” the other voice asked. It was so familiar and comforting, yet my brain almost refused to hear it.

I tried really hard to focus on his face finally recognizing who I was standing in front of. My focus shifted to slightly behind him, noticing the shiny motorcycle in the light of a streetlamp. Then I turned back to him, trying to take in his features which I could barely find in my swimming vision.

“Sebby? I thought you weren’t back until Saturday,” I managed to ask, almost falling over myself again.

“I honestly can’t make out what she’s saying,” Sam said. “We should get her home though, I can’t hold her much longer. She’s about ready to pass out.”

“One of us should go with her to make sure she doesn’t vom in her sleep or something,” Sebastian’s voice said from somewhere near me.

“I can go, I have nothing to do tomorrow anyways. It might be too much of a shock if she sees you, sober, first thing in the morning. After all, she might not remember this tomorrow.” This time it was Abigail talking.

“I guess that’s fair. Yoba, Andie, what have you done? Take really good care of her, Abby.”

“Of course, Seb. I’ll make sure she’s ready to greet you the way she actually wants to tomorrow.”

“Okay. Call me if you need any help or anything. I’m gonna go home and surprise mom. Really, don’t hesitate to call. I’ve helped her out when she was drunk before, but it wasn’t this bad last time.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, but I’ll keep it in mind. Talk tomorrow, Seb.”

“Okay. Talk tomorrow,” his quiet voice said sadly.

Barely aware of anything, I tried to keep my feet moving as I realized Abby was trying to direct us over to the farm house. I kept closing my eyes for a rest and it was as though my brain was taking naps three seconds at a time as I weaved in and out of consciousness.

Eventually, we got to the cabin. I passed out onto the bed at least, feeling Abigail help me on to my side before she climbed into my bed on the other side and tried to get some shut eye herself. Finally, I was out for the night.


	32. Chapter 32

The next morning, I woke up in my bedroom with the blinds drawn tightly closed so it was extremely dark. I reached over to feel either side of the bed, but I was alone under the sheets. I then realized I could hear vague sounds of sizzling and pans being dragged along the stove elements to toss something being cooked. Even some voices speaking and cackles of laughter could be heard.

I sat up and looked around the room to see Honey wasn’t with me either. I got up and started stripping off my clothes from the last night, which smelled of cigarettes and tequila. I tossed them in the laundry hamper and saw myself in the mirror as I walked by, in my plain black underwear and my black floral lace bralette, one of my favourites. My eyes were circled dark and were a bit puffy, and my skin paler than usual since it had been used to being tan from working in the sun.

I rubbed at my eyes tiredly and went over to my dresser to find a tee shirt to wear for the day. I had to wonder what was going on in my kitchen as I tried to remember what took place last night. I think I remember Abigail taking me home. Was she making breakfast? Who was she talking to?

I slipped on an old band shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants had another look at my bedhead in the mirror, trying to remove any particularly wonky looking cowlicks and flattening it into a relatively normal hairstyle.

I grabbed my phone from my bedside table and checked the time. It was one in the afternoon. I sighed as I finally opened the door leading out of my bedroom to see what the commotion was in the kitchen.

The sight in front of me was warm and happy, like a Winter day indoors should be. In the living room area, a fire had been started in the fireplace and Honey was laying in a circle on the rug in front of it. An orange glow covered the room, flickering over the couch, the walls, and the steaming mugs of coffee and hot chocolate sitting on the coffee table.

Outside the window, a world of pure white awaited and more snow was falling by the minute. I could faintly see the snow sitting on the branches of the trees around the edges of the farm like fluffy clouds. The microscopic crystals of ice sparkled in the small bit of sunbeams that peaked through the clouds, creating a sea of white on the farm. The flurry coming down seemed to be picking up.

Over in the kitchen, Abigail, Sam and Sebastian were trying to cook and playing around to try and have fun, tossing eggs gently to Sam and chuckling when he almost missed one. My eyes immediately fixated on the ebony haired man, shaking his head at his friend. He was exactly as I remembered him, as he was before leaving. His asymmetric haircut was almost covering his right eye, his elfish face so cynical and moody, and his dark eyes sat like disks of obsidian, looking tired and intense. He was wearing a black band tee shirt, and his trademark black hoodie was sitting on the back of one of the dining room chairs.

He looked over at me and paused his laughter for a moment to meet my eyes. Breaking into a smile, he looked me up and down, observing my state perhaps, or my hips in my baggy sweatpants. Abby and Sam noticed and turned to see me as well.

“FInally, you’re awake!” Sam said, raising his hands into the air, eggs still clutched.

“Seb?” I found my mouth saying before I could even think, virtually ignoring Sam. My legs carried me forward in a slow but purposeful walk. Sebastian’s face brightened as he curved around the dining table to approach me.

We met in a tight hug, his chest pressed to mine, our hearts beating only inches apart. We were close enough in height that his head, leaning against the side of mine, was basically parallel. Feeling his cheek on mine, cool to my warm one, was so comforting and familiar that I just melted into the hug.

I was taken out of the moment a bit when I felt his hand cup my behind and give it a cheeky squeeze.

“You nerd,” I giggled pulling away just enough to meet his smiling mouth in a quick kiss, our lips melding together like pieces of gold in a furnace.

I was surprised by him bringing an arm to the back of my neck and parting our lips in a deepening of the embrace. I brought my own arms up to his shoulders, so content to just sit in that moment for as long as possible, or as long as we could pretend Sam and Abby weren’t still standing in the kitchen watching us. The human touch I had been so viciously craving all this time, at last was here.

He pulled out of the kiss to observe my eyes and my reaction, his gaze lingering on my lips a bit longer than the rest.

“How ya feelin’?” he asked.

“So good, now that you’re here.”

“You were gone last night. You sure you don’t have a headache or anything?”

“You got home last night? Yoba, I really was gone. I’ll go take some painkillers before breakfast. Which, by the way, thank you guys, holy cow.”

“Yeah. Sam and Abby brought you to see me right after I got back, just as I arrived into Pelican Town pretty much. You really don’t remember any of it?” One of his eyebrows was raised a little higher than than the other in a concerned look. I felt the guilt buzzing in my mind, creating an electric anxiousness.

“N-Not really.”

He held my shoulders firmly, gathering my attention to meet his gaze.

“Look Andie, you don’t have to tell me about it right now, but I want to know what’s up.”

Unsure of how else to respond, I nodded understandingly at him, pressing my lips together in thought.

“Well, breakfast is almost ready,” Abigail said, looking over her shoulder from the pan she was cooking at, waving a spatula around as she spoke.

“Let’s get ready to eat,” Seb said, kindly. Once again, I just nodded while smiling up at him.

I approached the table to see what they had been up to all morning. In the middle of the table was a plate of pancakes, some of which were near burnt, as well as a plate of greasy bacon, scrambled eggs, and it seemed Abigail was working on some hashbrowns.

“Wow, it all looks really good. Except the pancakes,” I laughed.

“Gee, I wonder who was in charge of making the pancakes,” Sebastian said sarcastically. Sam turned around from watching the hashbrowns cook to shoot Seb a venomous look.

“I got distracted, okay!” he defended.

“A.k.a., Penny was texting him,” Abigail added as she stirred the small squares of potato around the pan.

“How’re things with you and Penny so far?” Seb asked, sipping from the inky brown coffee in front of him. I noticed a glass of orange juice was in front of my seat and decided it was mine now as I started sipping on that.

“Pretty good if I do say so myself. Honestly, her and I are my new OTP. No offence.”

“I don’t think your OTP is allowed to include yourself,” I commented.

“I can’t help it! I love what we have right now, man. I dunno, things are just going so great. I really love her. Also, I might give her this mermaid pendant,” he said, suddenly revealing the small blue shell hiding in his blue hoodie’s pocket, a thin string of rope dangling off one side of his hand.

The three of us released gasps almost exactly simultaneously. The grin on Sam’s face told me he loved our reactions to his little surprise reveal.

“Sam, no way,” Abigail said, eyeing the pendant, mouth agape in awe.

“Sam, yes way,” he said to himself, bringing his other hand up to cradle it.

“I… Wow, I don’t even know what to say, Sam. What… what would you do, where would you live if you got married to Penny? Those JojaMart paychecks aren’t exactly enough to live on,” Seb asked.

“I dunno yet, but we’ll figure it out, man. I love her.”

Sam said it all so casually, like he just knew it would all be fine no matter what. Even the many times Seb had told me the same thing, that we would figure it out, there was always a small amount of uncertainty in his voice. It had still always managed to comfort me regardless. Maybe it was his past with anxiety that made it sound different coming out of his mouth, but it was still a magical thing to say: we’ll figure it out. It implies togetherness, that with teamwork and both of you playing your strengths, everything will be okay in the end.

The way Seb said it had me believing it, but the way Sam said it would make anyone believe it, even if maybe we shouldn’t because this is Sam we’re talking about.

“Wow, that’s so exciting, Sam! When are you thinking about asking her?” I prodded, sipping my orange juice again to try and relieve my suddenly dry mouth.

“I was thinking maybe the night of our Winter Star Eve party,” he said, in thought.

“Our?” Seb asked, confused. “You two are hosting a party together?”

“Yeah, my mom and my sister are coming the Monday of that week, so I thought since Tuesday is Winter Star Eve that might be a good time to introduce my family to the town. Then Sam decided he wanted to throw a party too, so he hijacked mine,” I giggled.

“I’m gonna turn this into the party of the century, Andie! I’ve already asked Gus to cater, which he said he’d love to do, we can set up tables on the farm for the food and for people to sit at. Emily said she could help mix drinks and make some table decorations, Haley will be our photographer-”

“Holy shit, we only just decided this the other day and you’ve already started on all this?”

“Yep! I told you, I’m a master of parties. I’ve got this all handled,” he grinned proudly, his white teeth almost sparkling from how much light they were catching.

“Wow. I really need to step it up in the coming week.”

“Heck yeah, you can be in charge of the music. Oh, and you gotta choose what area we’re setting up the party in. It’s your land, after all.”

“I guess I can handle that. Alright, sounds like it’ll be fun. Oh, Seb will you… will you even be here for Winter Star?”

“Yeah, Seb, you gotta come to your girlfriend’s party,” Abigail said, finally removing the hashbrowns from the heat and placing them in a bowl to be served. “Alright, let’s eat!”

“About that,” Sebastian said, returning to the previous conversation. “I said that before coming back I was working something out with the company. Well… I managed to get them to let me work from home.”

I almost choked on my orange juice, spraying it onto my clean plate which had been awaiting breakfast to be placed upon it.

“You’re what?” I coughed out.

“Fire Quartz is back together, bitch!” Sam cried, mouth full of bacon.

“You were right Andie, the city’s not for me. I enjoyed my time there, but… I was lonely. I missed you, I missed all of you,” he said, looking around at us each. “I missed Pelican Town, and all the quiet places I could get away to just think within walking distance. There’s nowhere to hide from all the people in the city, nowhere to have a few moments entirely to yourself.”

We all started piling food onto our plates. I got up to grab a clean one before I did the same, but I managed to fit a bit of everything on the plate and then drowned my pancakes in syrup, hoping I wouldn’t taste the burnt bits.

“Yeah. I used to hide in bathrooms a lot back in the city. Going to the forest is much nicer,” I commented. “But wow, Seb! You’re gonna be working from home! Here, in Pelican Town! Have you told your mom yet? She must be so happy!”

“Yeah, after Abigail brought you home last night I went back and surprised mom and Demetrius and Maru. Mom cried her eyes out when she saw me. Demetrius looked a little disappointed, but oh well, fuck him. I tried that route and I didn’t like it. There’s nothing for me in the city. Maru seemed happy to see me back too. She hugged me, which was… different.”

“Back to the ol’ basement for now then?”

“It would be nice to move out somewhere. Maybe eventually.”

“Well, you could move in here.” I wasn’t sure if I should have said it. The moment the words escaped my mouth, I felt a small tinge of regret for some reason. I supposed I wished I had put some thought into it before asking, but this was Seb of all people. Having him stay here would be great; he could do his work without worrying about Demetrius nagging him, and he’d be close enough to his mom that she could still visit often.

Sam and Abigail were anxiously awaiting Sebastian’s reply. He was looking up at me, paused before biting into a piece of pancake. He pulled away from the bite on his fork and closed his mouth again.

“Uh,” he said, his eyes darting around in thought. “I… I guess… Let me think about it first, okay? I know you’ve got a lot going on lately, Andie. I think we should talk about that first before we make any big decisions, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, slightly let down.

His choice was entirely fair to make. I suppose that, in the romantic whirlwind of discovering that Sam was going to be proposing to Penny, I had gotten carried away with it still on my mind. He had just gotten back home and needed time to settle and move back into the basement, of course he wasn't ready to pack it all up again to move here. It wasn’t fair of me to ask that.

I mentally chastised myself as I brought a piece of the oily bacon to my mouth.

 

Sam and Abby offered to clean up the plates while Seb and I tried to find something we could all watch on television. I was taking a sip on hot chocolate when Sebastian stopped flipping through the channels on what seemed to be a Space Wars marathon where all the movies were being played.

“Didn’t you say these are your favourite?” he asked. I smiled over my mug of the creamy brown drink as I watched the screen playing one of my favourite scenes, where the reckless hero decides to leave his training with his wise, old mentor to go and rescue his friends, halfway across the galaxy, from his nemesis.

I leaned my head onto his shoulder and shifted the rest of my body to make that position comfortable.

“Yeah, they are,” I said, wedging my head against the crook of his neck. He leaned his head against mine as we started watching the movies.

Abby and Sam joined us after they finished cleaning up and we spent the day binge-watching the films, even the controversial prequels and sequels.

“I’m telling you, they’re actually good movies. People just don’t appreciate art,” I prefaced the next trilogy in defence.

“Art? Is that what they’re calling it nowadays?” Seb teased. I playfully punched him in the shoulder as the opening sequence grabbed my attention and I found myself enthralled in the story once more.

 

By the time the sequels rolled around, it was late in the evening and Abigail and Sam left for their respective homes to attend to some other business. I was fighting my own heavy eyelids in an attempt to stay awake, still on the couch, now laid nearly atop Sebastian who was leaning against the arm, with me being hugged to him between his legs. I felt him shift around to see my expression.

“You tired?”

“Yeah. I’m struggling to stay awake, honestly.”

“Wanna go for a walk or something?”

“That sounds nice.”

I shut off the television and stood up off the couch, stretching out my limbs to try and allow movement through them again. I thought about a path we might take around the farm, through Cindersap Forest, or perhaps up the mountain to the train tracks? Then the secret forest appeared in my mind’s eye.

“Hey, I know where we can walk to. I wanna show you something,” I told him. He seemed confused, but smiled.

“Okay,” he laughed.

I popped into my room quickly to grab my snow jacket and spotted my cigarettes sitting on my desk. I debated for a moment if I wanted to grab them and bring them with me, but I decided against it and left the room with only my jacket in hand.

 

“Where are we going, exactly?” Seb asked as I led him by the hand into the secret woods, dragging him over to the ruins and the lake as a light amount of snow drifted around us. I let go of his hand to gesture towards the strange ruins.

“Isn’t this place cool? No one ever comes here. This is where I’ve been coming to write songs and to practice singing.”

“So, this is where the magic happens?” he asked with a chuckle as he approached the ruins to examine them.

An idea overtook me and I reached for my phone, searching through my music and started playing a slow, indie song to fit the mood. Sebastian looked over to see the sight of me holding my phone and meeting his eyes, as I was also watching him for his reaction.

“What are you doing?” he asked, sensing my mischievousness.

“Come here,” I commanded softly, placing the phone in my breast pocket so that the music could still be heard.

He stepped up to me as the music echoed through the clearing. His eyes were holding a gaze with my own, trying to figure out what I had in mind. I brought my arms up to his neck, and he followed the cue and brought his own arms to hold me close around my waist. Then, I started a gentle sway to the music. He tilted his head, watching me but not following my movements.

“Come on, just a little dance.”

I watched his mouth move into a playful smirk.

“You know I hate dancing.”

I kept on moving my hips to the forcefully gentle rhythm of the acoustic guitar playing, and I kept eye contact with him, waiting for him to give in. 

“Please,” I asked, looking up at him from my tilted head.

He sighed heavily, shaking his head at me before he finally started swaying with me in a romantic dance.

“Here. Happy now?”

“Yes, very much so, thank you.”

We stood there for a while, rocking back and forth on our feet as I watched the snow softly landing on the slightly fluffy strands of his dark hair, the little crystals of white melting in seconds as they sat on his head. I pulled him even closer and leaned my head onto his shoulder. I felt at his mercy in that moment. My brain kept returning to the thought that we’d have to have a talk. I was so absolutely anxious about it.

“Promise you won’t leave me?” I worried we’d get too deep into it in that moment, that perhaps I wasn’t ready to talk, but the words escaped my mouth in that vulnerable moment.

“I can’t foresee a reason why I’d have to. I don’t ever want to leave you.”

Pragmatic as ever.

“I guess that’s all I wanted to hear.”

“Do you want… to talk? About what happened when I left?”

“Oh Seb, it was the train tracks all over again, only with alcohol. It was the most pathetic thing, I don’t know what happened.”

“You were feeling sad, it’s not pathetic.”

“It is. I always thought feeling like this when you’re away was some weird thing that writers invented to sell movies and romance novels. And then it happened to me, and I don’t understand why.”

“Look, clearly you haven’t completely overcome your struggles. It’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with that. My coming back had nothing to do with you. Does that make you feel better to know? I came back because I want to, because I love you and want to be near you, because I want to live in Pelican Town. I feel selfish saying that, but that seems to be what you want from me.”

“It’s not selfish. I think we have to take care of ourselves first. It helps us become our best selves when we’re together.”

“Will you go to a therapist then? I want to see you take care of yourself, Andie. You’ve done more than enough for me. You let me go.”

I let him go; the one thing his mother struggled to do, I realize, is one of the biggest things I had done for Sebastian. Going to therapy would be one more thing, one big thing I could do to make this relationship continue to work. The thought scared me, but as I stood there, still swaying along to the next song that played, I realized it was the only thing that made sense to do. I had to do it.

“I’ll talk to Harvey about it tomorrow. Maybe I can start before my mom and sister get here.”

“That would be great. I’m always here to talk and support you and that, but I think you need this right now.”

It went quiet for a minute while the music played out into the night. I then realized a tear had been sitting on my eye as it was released by a blink and moistened the shoulder of Sebastian’s hoodie. I pulled away to wipe my cheek of the wetness.

“Sorry. I’m a cry baby.”

“It’s okay. My mom is too, so I have a little practice dealing with emotional people,” he chuckled. He brought a hand to cup my cheek and thumbed away and remaining tears.

He pressed a quick kiss to my lips as the second song ended. I reached for the phone and stopped the music just as another song was starting.

“I’m glad this talk ended like this. I was worried I had somehow fucked everything up and you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.”

“You didn’t hurt my feelings, Andie. Maybe you hurt Abigail’s, but she’s used to dealing with my moods too. You apologized, she seems okay with it now. It’d be a little hypocritical if I treated you like a monster when I’ve probably done and said worse things.”

“Fair,” I giggled, kissing him once more before parting to watch our hot breaths intermingle in the cool Winter air. “The offer to move in still stands, by the way. I’ve got lots of room, and your mom is adding another one. If you’re worried about being there when my family comes, don’t worry because I told my mom about you. Well, I told her I’m dating someone. I didn’t tell her it was you just yet, but she’ll see when she gets here. At least she’s met you already.”

“I’ll think about it,” he reiterated.

“Okay. Let me know,” I said, taking his hand. “Let’s get back home, we can finish that marathon now that I’m a bit more awake.”

“I always heard real Space Wars fans didn’t like the sequels,” Seb commented as we headed for the entrance of the secret woods.

“Fuck that. People just like hating things,” I said, firmly taking a stance.

He chuckled and his laugh echoed in the quiet of the forest. I squeezed his hand tightly as we left footprints in the snow, making our way back to the warm farm cabin.


	33. Chapter 33

Over the next few days, I approached Harvey about counselling services that he could refer me to. He first suggested to me some telephone services I could try since driving to the city once a week would be too tedious a task. I agreed to it and made the first appointment for a few days later. The first call went really well, and I was feeling great about this idea. The therapist I was speaking with was good at helping me get my thoughts in order and understanding my own psychology a bit more.

The day after the first call, I went to visit Sebastian in the evening while he was working from home. Sam was going to be coming over soon to give me a run down of how the party was going to go down. I was a little anxious that he might have gone overboard, but I wanted to be able to trust him.

“Hey, Seb,” I chimed as I opened the door. He looked up at me quickly over his computer, but continued typing without missing a beat.

“Hey Andie. I’m just gonna finish what I’m typing before I forget what I’m doing,” he explained, examining the screen once more.

I closed the door softly and sauntered in behind him, holding his shoulders, to watch him type for a bit.

“How do you make any sense of this stuff?”

The code looked all jumbled and meaningless to me. I suppose I was a more artistic leaning person than logical leaning, but it just looked ugly to me.

“It takes a lot of practice,” he chuckled, as he scrolled through the module, checking over his work.

I watched for a couple more confusing minutes before Sam finally arrived.

“The party planner is here!” he sang as he burst through the door. Sebastian jumped in his seat, causing me to jump in unison.

“You fucker! You scared me,” he said, holding his chest for a moment.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled, having jumped back and away from where Seb was sitting.

“You weirdos. You knew I was coming; you should have expected me,” Sam cackled while the two of us attempted to settle down.

“We have anxiety, we’re jumpy, you can’t just do that to us,” I joked around while waiting for my nerves to get the memo that everything was fine.

“Alright, well, let’s talk Winter Star Eve,” he said, setting down a notebook onto the table in the middle of Seb’s room.

I approached the table and sat down at a chair, still feeling a little frazzled.

“Okay, what are we doing?” I asked him.

“Seb isn’t going to join us?”

“It’s your guys’s party. I’ll just listen from over here, I have a lot to do still,” he explained as the sounds of his typing could be heard once more.

“Okay then, well, let’s talk food first. Gus is going to be bringing some pizzas, a couple of each main flavours so like probably two cheese, two pepperonis, two ham and pineapple, two vegetarian, something like that.’

“Sounds good.”

“Why ham and pineapple? That’s disgusting,” Seb popped in.

“Excuse you, pineapple is the only way to eat pizza,” I said, mockingly holding a hand to my chest as if I was offended.

“That’s it, we’re breaking up. I want my bouquet back,” he quipped back, completely deadpan.

“Sorry, nerd, you’re stuck with me and my disgusting pineapple pizza eating ways,” I chuckled, turning my attention back to Sam.

“He also said he’d bring a ceasar salad, so we have dinner. You said you’d do dessert as well as music, so how’s that coming along?”

“I’ve bought all the ingredients to make my grandma’s tiramisu, and I’ll also make a cake for the kids since I have a feeling giving them a dessert loaded with coffee late on Winter Star Eve is probably a terrible idea. The music is all set too, I made an awesome playlist and I’ll move my speakers onto the porch for the night.”

“Nice, you are on top of it. Mayor Lewis is letting us use the festival tables, and Shane and Clint are going to help him bring them over to the farm. Do you have an area picked out for us?”

“There’s an area by the pond that’s pretty wide open, and the animals are on the opposite side of the farm so they won’t be bothered while they’re trying to sleep.”

“Sounds good. I’ve got some booze and beers ready to go, so that’s done. Do we want any, like, games? Or activities?”

“Sure, I’ve heard children do well with some structured play, but, you know, it’s also good to let them use their imaginations,” I joked to a confused-looking Sam. “The townspeople being the children. You know what, never mind. We can use some tables for beer pong or something, we don’t need to worry too much about it. People will figure out their own games once they’ve started drinking.”

“Okie dokie, what else do we have?” he asked himself as he checked his notebook for the first time to check over all the duties. “Umm… decorations? Maybe we can get some of the Winter Star ones and move them all to the town square the next morning?”

“Maybe I could make them. I could probably use extra hands, but maybe when my mom and sister get here I can get them to help me out.”

“Maybe try Emily and, or, Haley; they’re good at things like this.”

“Okay, I’ll try them as well. Anything else we need?”

“I think that’s it.”

“Wow, okay. Everything sounds like it’ll be good then. Thanks for helping me throw this party, Sam. Even though it’s literally your party and your idea, I still feel like it’s something we’re doing together and I think it’ll be cool.”

“Have I finally won your approval, mom?” he asked in a fake whiny teen voice. I chuckled and stretched my arms, still feeling some tiredness from the thought of all that still needed to be done.

“Yes, son. On this day, you’ve made me proud.” Lazily, I placed a hand on his shoulder like a proud parent, earning a wide grin from Sam.

“Well, I think I’m done my work for today,” Sebastian said, getting up from his seat and stretching his arms and neck, before joining us at the table by standing behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder. I found my own hand meandering up to meet his and mindlessly brushing my thumb against the back of his hand, feeling his soft skin against the work hardened pads on my own fingers.

“Are you… leaving now?” Seb asked Sam impatiently.

“Wha- Oh, I see how it is. You want me to leave so you two can bone.” I immediately pulled an annoyed look as I shook my head at him. “What, you want me to stay?” he teased, meeting my gaze.

“You know what, yeah, Sam. Please, stay and watch. Seb, I just have to tell you, now that Sam is here to witness, I’ve been dreaming of you letting me sit on your face for a while now. How about it?”

“And, I’m gone. See you two, lovers,” Sam said, grabbing his notebook and leaving through the door. The sound of him pounding up the stairs could be heard, and then the sound of his footsteps quieting as he headed through Robin’s shop.

I looked up to meet Sebastian’s eyes to find he was already gazing down at me longingly. I hummed as I continued to play with his fingers in mine.

“A little birdy told me it was your birthday a couple weeks ago.”

“Was that little birdy blond and trying to plan a surprise party for me?” he asked monotonely.

“Yes, but I told him not to plan anything. I guess the Winter Star party might kind of be making up for it in Sam’s eyes. Anyways, since I didn’t get to say it then, happy birthday. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Eh. It’s just another digit.”

“You’re one of those dudes who is just too cool for your birthday?”

He raised his eyebrow at me and smirked.

“I guess my mom just used to make such a big deal about it, it was so embarrassing.”

“So now we pretend it doesn’t exist?”

“I just… I don’t like birthday parties, everyone looks at you and gives you things, sometimes things you don’t even want which just proves they were buying it out of obligation and not because they know anything about you or what you like, then you have to pretend you like it and it’s so awkward. I don’t get why people put up with it.”

I shrugged at him as I stood up off the chair and turned to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I guess it’s a facade we play as part of a social obligation. Some people find it fun, you know? You get to eat cake, and usually if you get things you don’t like you can return them for things you do like,” I replied smartly.

“It’s not my thing,” he said, gazing down in the direction of my mouth and nose.

“That’s okay. Now that I know when your birthday is, I can plan a party for next year.”

“Please, no.”

“Don’t worry, it will be a surprise, that way before you can say ‘I don’t want a party’ it’ll be too late, and you’ll already be having fun.”

“Probably not, I hate parties.”

“Well, I appreciate you trying at least to come to mine in a few days,” I chuckled.

“I figure if you’re there it’ll be a bit more bearable. Plus, the attention won’t be on me,” he said, eyeing my face curiously. “You know, most festivals before you got here were so boring. Sam and I had to resort to throwing rotten eggs at things during the Egg Festival, and tampering with the stew at the Luau just to make things fun.”

“Wow, you were such a bad kid. No wonder Demetrius is so strict with you, that’s what he’s used to dealing with,” I laughed. He smirked and looked away.

“Yeah, I guess there are times when I kinda deserved it. I sorta needed someone to keep me in line.”

“Yeah, first Demetrius did that job, and now it’s my turn,” I joked.

He turned back to face me making an expression I couldn’t quiet understand, but the softness in his eyes told me it was good.

“I don’t want you to be my mother, Andie. I love you.”

I felt a pleasant smile pull on my own face. A moment passed before he moved in for a kiss, gentle at first though seeming to want more. I found myself smiling into it as I brought my arms down from his neck to snake them around his back from under his arms.

I felt his hand around the back of my neck as he deepened the kiss, tenderly coaxing my lips apart with his tongue. I walked us over to the bed and shoved him onto it. He smirked up at me before I leaned over him to continue the kiss, breaking it again only to sneak in beside him and bring the blankets over us. I eyed him, focused on his lips, before kissing him once more.

“I’m kinda tired,” I said, finding a comfortable space for my head in the pillow.

“Wanna watch a movie? I think I could find a pirated copy of the newest Space Wars movie.” Sebastian reached forward to grab his laptop off the table at the foot of his bed.

“Yoba, I love you.”

 

The next morning, I was surprised to find that I had woken up with Sebastian’s arms around me. I snuggled in against his body, still heaving slowly with each deep, sleepy breath. It seemed like normally after waking up together, one of us was already out of bed but not today. I thought of getting up to use the bathroom, but I was far too comfortable to move. I leaned my head in against his.

I would have been happy to just sit there for an hour or two until he awoke, but suddenly Sebastian’s phone was buzzing from the table at the foot of the bed. First just one ding, and seconds after another rung out. I grunted audibly and felt Sebastian shifting around beside me.

“The fuck is that?” he mumbled, sitting up on one elbow, his eyes still heavy and closed.

“It’s your phone; you tell me.”

He glared at it for a second, during which it stopped buzzing. He laid back down next to me, rubbing his eyes and seeming to try to get back to sleep. I leaned back in to get comfy and closed my eyes, placing a hand on his smooth bare chest next to my body. One of his arms wrapped around my lower back; we laid there for less than a minute before the ding occurred again and the phone buzzed against the surface of the table.

“Fuck! Sam…” he trailed off. I had a feeling it was Sam as well. He finally bit the bullet and leaned forward, grabbing the phone, then leaned back in and held the phone up for us to look at.

 

_ Seb! Seeeebbbbbb!!!!! _

_ U awake yet? _

_ Pls, waaaaake uuuupp. _

_ You lazy bastard. _

 

_ The fuck do you want Sam? Andie and I just woke up thanks to you. _

 

I watched Seb shake his head as he typed out the response with one finger, releasing a small, tired giggle as I read along.

 

_ Is Andie with you? Yessss, my OTP did the do! Hi Andie. _

 

_ She says hi. Now why tf are you texting me? _

_ Penny and I! Last night! Did the naughty tango! _

 

“Why does he feel the need to tell me these things?” Sebastian whined once the reply appeared onscreen.

“He’s your friend.”

“I don’t even know what to say to this.”

I shuffled from under the sheets and took the phone from him.

 

_ Where did you do it? Your place? _

 

_ With officer mom in the other room? Nah, at hers. _

 

_ Where was Pam? _

 

_ I think she slept at the Saloon, idk. _

 

_ Dayum. How many times did you make her cum? _

 

_ OmG, this is Andie isn’t it? _

 

_ Just trying to make sure you’re taking care of your gf. _

 

With a chuckle I handed the phone back to Sebastian, who typed back a last message while I stood up and started stretching my stiff body. I was wearing one of Seb’s tee shirts, the one he was wearing yesterday, and no pants over my underwear. As I reached my arms above my head, I felt a hand wrap around the front of my waist from behind, and the other was gently brushing against the skin of my thigh.

I moaned delightfully at the sensation of his soft hand exploring my legs and torso when his mouth found my neck and made its way up to my ear, leaving kisses.

“What time is it?”

“Nine thirty,” he whispered into my ear before continuing, suckling on my ear lobe.

“Do we have time to… get intimate?” He chuckled at that.

“I’m not usually up for quite a while, so we have time before anyone comes down here to check up on me.”

I turned to face him, my hands wandering over his chest, then down to feel the smooth skin over his hips. He brought a curled finger under my chin, bringing my mouth to meet his, and my eyes fluttered to a close. Once our lips had met and started moving together in a sensuous embrace, his hands traced along the back of my neck before tangling themselves in the hair at the base of my neck. I worried for a moment he would try to pull through the tangles, but it seemed he had the sense to pulls his fingers back out the way they came and pulling the mid-length hair off my shoulders.

He pulled away for a moment, our noses still touching as his hot breath floated over my mouth.

“I love your hair this colour,” he revealed in a low voice. I smiled, kissing just beside his mouth.

“I might get it cut soon. But thank you, I like it this colour too.” I kissed the other side of his mouth, more so on his cheek. “I love your hair in the morning; it’s so floofy.” I went in for another kiss, full on the mouth.

He pulled away for a moment.

“Floofy?” he asked, confusedly.

I just laughed and continued the kiss, stepping backwards towards the bed until I fell back over it. His eyes fell over me, admiring my figure posed over the bed. I folded my arms behind my head and enjoyed the view of him in return, only wearing his boxers, the only thing he owned that wasn’t black, it seemed; instead, they had a grey geometric pattern over a lighter shade of grey. His skin was absolutely milky in colour from all this time spent programming from the basement bedroom.

“You’re so lovely,” I found myself commenting mindlessly. His cheeks went red and his eyes suddenly seemed determined to get back to business.

He leaned over me to continue the kiss, putting a hand around my thigh and lifting it up, hinting at me to curl it around his waist. I obliged, bringing the other leg up as well, holding him to me while my hands explored the surface of his bare back. He pulled my shirt up a bit as he felt his way up my stomach before massaging a breast in his soft hand.

I released a moan as his mouth came to meet mine once more. Taking my bottom lip into his mouth, he suckled on it as his lower body grinded against my pelvis, creating some soft friction. Gentle waves of pleasure began to wash over my body as the sensation of him through his boxers brushing against me mixed with the feeling of his thumb running over my stiff nipple. His kisses moved down my neck, to my chest; he kissed the sensitive nub before taking it into his mouth, suckling on it and flicking his tongue over it, forcing another moan from me.

I wanted to watch him, enjoying the view, but I found my eyes drifting closed in an attempt to enjoy every little sensation. He worked on my nipple for a couple minutes before he stopped and pulled away, causing me to open my eyes in surprise.

“Take off your underwear,” he commanded. I smiled and released a giggle as I followed his order, dropping the black panties off the side of the bed. I met his eyes again, dark in colour and in intent.

“Now what?” I cooed flirtatiously.

“Just sit back.”

Later, Seb and I were sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffees. Him sitting at the table and me, leaning against the counter wearing one of Sebastian’s shirts again over my jeans from the other day.

Demetrius entered the kitchen to get some water at one point, looked directly at Sebastian’s shirt on my body and gave me an annoyed look. I just shrugged at him, but said nothing. He still looked irritated but left us alone after grabbing his glass of water.

Sebastian and I met eyes, giggling about Demetrius’s reaction.


	34. Chapter 34

Sebastian, Abigail, Sam and I were waiting by the bus stop on Monday, the day before the Winter Star Eve party. We were discussing our next band practice in between finalizing party plans when Mayor Lewis entered the clearing seemingly out of nowhere.

“Hello children! Andie, why is it that I only just found out Pelican Town is having visitors this Winter Star?” he asked me, raising an eyebrow as he approached our group.

“Oh, sorry Mayor Lewis! I assumed Sam would have told you that part of the reason for the party tomorrow was because I had family coming to town.”

“He most certainly didn’t.”

Sam shrugged apologetically at me, leaving me to sigh at his forgetfulness.

“Well, now you know,” I chuckled awkwardly.

Mayor Lewis looked a bit annoyed but joined us in waiting for my mom and sister to arrive on the bus from Zuzu City.

“So, I was thinking we record an EP ourselves and then next time we play in Zuzu, we can sell them,” Sam continued from where we were before Mayor Lewis interrupted us.

“How the hell would we record one? We don’t really have much in terms of equipment,” I wondered aloud.

“Maybe we could head into the city and check the thrift stores and pawn shops for some, ahem, gently used equipment,” Abigail suggested.

“Yeah, maybe. I don’t know what we’ll find for digital recording at a thrift shop though. Unless we’re planning on recording a fucking 8-track or something,” I said.

“It’s vintage,” Sam jumped in, defending the idea.

“Who still has tape players though?” Seb asked skeptically.

“I do,” Mayor Lewis whined defensively.

The rest of us burst into giggles as Mayor Lewis bashfully turned back to watch the tunnel at the end of the road.

At last, a bus came driving through and slowed to a stop directly in front of us at the stop. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. I don’t know what exactly I was nervous about, but I guess I just wasn’t sure what to expect of the coming week. What would my mom think of my life here? Oh yoba, what will my sister think of my life here?

The bus doors opened with the sound of air hissing and Pam was the first one out. She nodded at us and walked over to the cargo hold under the bus to open it. Seconds after she stepped off, my mother hurried down the steps and hopped off the bus, immediately falling into a hug with me.

“Andie! I’ve missed you so much, oh my yoba.”

“I’ve missed you too, mom,” I stuttered through the crushing hug.

I watched the steps of the bus as my sister stepped down slowly in a pair of expensive looking stilettos, glancing around the clearing with uncertainty.

“Hey Serena,” I said as casually as possible though I was still clutched in the tight embrace.

“Hey Andie,” she said, looking around at the others in the clearing with us.

“Welcome back to Pelican Town Mrs… erm,” Mayor Lewis tried to welcome, unsure of my mother’s married name.

“Just go with Lucia, Lewis. That’s how you knew me when my father was alive,” my mother chuckled, finally releasing me to face the man who was so close my grandfather.

I moved towards my sister to offer her a hug as well. She took it loosely, patting me on the back a couple times before releasing me.

“I heard that you got engaged,” I said, trying to start a conversation.

“Oh, yeah.” She held up her hand, displaying a beautiful and rather large rock on her ring finger. She almost seemed a little bashful about it. “We’re thinking of a June wedding. Avoid the rain and that.”

“What’s his name? What’s he like?”

“Brendan. He’s a lawyer.”

That was all she said.

“Lawyer. That’s cool,” I said, trying to force something out of my mouth.

I heard a small cough from behind me, most likely from Sam.

“Oh, these are my friends and bandmates. Mom, you’ve all met already, but for Serena, this is Sam, Abigail and Sebastian.” I pointed to each as I went through them.

“Nice to meet you,” Abigail said, excitedly holding a hand out for her to shake. Serena looked down at her hand for a second before taking it, a weak smile on her face. Sam offered his next so she took it, then Sebastian followed suit.

I watched him take her hand, offering a pursed lip smile before he moved to stand beside me.

“So, Andie, over the phone you said to me you were…” my mom began. As she spoke, Sebastian possessively brought an arm around my waist and pulled me into him playfully. “…seeing someone,” she finished, a slight bit of surprise in her voice as she spoke slowly, as though taking it in.

I looked up at Seb, trying to figure out why he decided that was the moment to show any kind of affection. He offered me nothing, however, as he observed my mom and sister’s reaction.

“You two?” she asked for confirmation.

“Yep,” I answered, feeling a little awkward that we were just standing there with his arm around me. “This is my loser,” I joked to tease Sebastian for attempting to embarrass me like that.

“Hey,” he whined, releasing me. I chuckled.

“That’s nice. I’m glad you two are getting along so well,” my mother said, seeming to mean it. I smiled up at her.

“I should get going,” Mayor Lewis jumped in. “Let me know if either of you need anything: information or a tour of the town, Andie will show you where you can find me. Have a good afternoon!”

With that he strode past the fence and on the path into town.

“Well, I’ll show you guys the farm. We can work on lunch,” I suggested to my mom and sister.

“Sure! Are we all going?” my mother asked the group.

“Yeah, Sam and I need to do some more planning for tomorrow and Seb and Abby have been helping here and there… well, not really actually but they’re friends so I guess they can hang out.”

“Not helping? Who’s the one who suggested a good playlist to you?” Abigail jumped in.

“The one I made is still better though,” I shrugged at her. “Just sayin’. Anyways, let’s head over.”

 

I showed mom and Serena around the revamped farm house and my mother was amazed at all the renovations that I had made. They met Honey, and I started on the salad and sandwiches for lunch.

“Sorry it’s nothing too special, but trust me when I say you’ll eat really well tomorrow night and on Winter Star. Gus is cooking for both events and he’s a fantastic cook; you’ll really enjoy your meals,” I explained apologetically to my mother and sister who were sitting at the table with Sam in front of some cold cuts and cheese on a platter. Abigail and Seb had taken to helping me prepare the food.

“It’s fine. It reminds me of going to eat with your grandparents actually,” mom smiled.

“Yeah, that’s fine. It’s like charcuterie in a way,” my sister added, finally warming up to the farm a bit after trudging through the muddy snow on the farm in her heels, dirtying them. I giggled.

“Yeah, small-town charcuterie,” Seb joked cynically as he sat down. I carried the plate of sandwiches over to the table and took the seat beside him.

I bit my lip as I looked up at him, still feeling nervous for some reason. I was at least glad that Seb seemed to feel at ease with my mom and sister. Having him say nothing would have made this all horrible. I guess it’s kind of like that thing where if everyone involved is too anxious to do something, one of them has to be the mom-friend and just do the thing. He was being my mom-friend-boyfriend right now. And I was so thankful for it.

 

We spent the afternoon catching up and ended off the night by playing some board games. I surprised to see how well we were able to get along. Even my mom fit right in despite the age gap. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so much that she fit in as it was we accomodated her more matured sense of humour.

I must admit, I did enjoy seeing any interaction between Sebastian and my family. It made me feel validated in that moment, which I guess I didn’t realize was something that I desired since being so far away from home. Overall, I was feeling pretty good about the evening.

 

As Winter Star Eve approached by the hour, Sam and I were running around trying to get last minute decorations and help bring the tables and food over from Gus at the Stardrop Saloon. My mom actually headed over to the Saloon earlier in the day to help Gus finish cooking. I sent my sister to help out Haley and Emily and I think the girls were getting along well.

Soon enough, we had each table covered in Winter florals and huge plates of pasta and garlic bread. As everyone who helped prepare for the evening took a quick break for some wine, guests started arriving for the feast. And as they arrived, I introduced each of them to my mom and sister.

“Charmed, Madam,” Elliot crooned in his proper-sounding voice, taking her hand in for a kiss.

“Oh my,” my mother giggled in return.

“And this is my sister, Serena.”

“My, that is quite a ring you have there!” he remarked as he took my sister’s hand in turn. “They’re a lucky person to have fallen in love with such a beautiful lady.”

Serena tried to take it in stride, but I could tell she was blushing a bit beneath her cold, business exterior.

Then Leah swooped in to offer a more down-to-earth greeting. Soon, Robin and Demetrius had come over with Maru.

 

Once everyone had met everyone, my family sat at a shared table with Abigail’s family so that my mother and Abigail’s could catch up for a while. Sam had started up the playlist we mutually agreed on, after much deliberation, which was filled with pop and alt throwbacks from our middle-school years. The adults didn’t seem to mind though.

Eventually dinner was finished and most above the legal age were a couple drinks in. I was seated near Abigail and, once the eating had finished and Sebastian was done with his family obligations for the dinner seating, he came and joined us.

“When do you think Sam will do it?” Abigail asked.

“He won’t do it,” Sebastian chuckled.

“I dunno, he’s certainly reckless enough,” I commented as I sloshed my wine around the glass before taking another sip.

“What if he does though? And they get married. Then what?”

I just shook my head.

“I don’t know,” Sebastian commented over his beer.

As the three of us sat and eyed Sam and Penny, who were sitting at a table shared by both their families, I started accidentally catching bits of the conversation my mother was having with Caroline. She was telling my mom how Sebastian gave me the bouquet on Spirit’s Eve. I could feel my face going a bit hot.

I noticed that Sebastian had overheard as well as he had that look of utter horror on his face: the horror of embarrassment. I slipped my hand over his and, feeling how cold his body was, took his hands in both of mine to warm them up. He looked over at me, seeming to feel a bit assured that everything was fine. His dark little eyes met mine and that small smile was spreading across his face.

“Andie! I didn’t know you guys were serious! Good man, Sebastian, keeping the traditions of the Valley alive!” my mother said, very obviously a bit wine-drunk.

“Sorry mom, I hadn’t gotten around to telling you about that part yet,” I giggled, trying to cover up the awkwardness I felt with me and Sebastian’s dating life being the topic of discussion.

“Bouquets, that’s so cute,” my sister commented, over a glass of white.

I bashfully turned back to Sebastian and took another sip of my wine.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” he asked me all of a sudden, with a somewhat serious look up on his face.

“Oh. Yeah, sure Seb.”

I put my glass down on the table and told the table we’d be back in a second.

 

We took a short walk around the stone fences where my garden had sat the seasons before, under branches of snow-covered pine trees. The music sounded a bit muffled over here, but we could still see the festivities from where we stood.

I fascinated myself in the sight of the town coming together, with my mom and sister here to see what it was really like, to see how I fit in with this little town. It felt like home. That’s what I had realized in that moment, exploring how the community shared and came together over the food and music and community.

Sebastian had his hands in his pockets again, trying to warm them up properly.

“I’m gonna need to buy you some gloves,” I joked.

“I have a crazy idea.”

“Okay,” I giggled. “Shoot. I love crazy ideas.”

“Let’s leave. Right now. Let’s just go somewhere.” There was a twinkle in his eye that I had only seen a few times before. What on Earth?

“I can’t leave with my sister and mom here, and the animals. I’ve told you before, Seb,” I laughed once more. What was he getting at?

“Your mom and sister know how to take care of the animals now, they watched you yesterday. Sam and Abigail know how to do it too from hanging out while you took care of them.”

I gave him a look and he could tell I wasn’t convinced.

“It’s just for a few days,” he promised.

“A few days? Seb, what is this? What’s going on?” I couldn’t work out what might have been going on in his mind.

“Okay, hear me out Andie. We leave for a vacation for a couple days, and we… elope.” He had a hopeful, childlike look to his eyes. It was like he just wanted to live out a beautiful dream he had had.

“Elope?” I questioned. He nodded once, a smirk appearing on his face. “Like, get married?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Wow. Are you sure you’re not just drunk, Seb? I don’t know, is this what you really want?”

His shoulders slumped and his face seemed let down.

“You don’t want this at all, do you? Fuck me, I misunderstood. Of course I did. You want a mermaid pendant.”

“No! I really don’t care about the pendant, Seb. This...this is actually something I really want, I just… didn’t think you wanted to get married just yet. You’re usually so cautious.”

“I know. But you make me feel like I know myself a bit better.”

“I feel the same way,” I said, looking down for a moment to think. “Tell me exactly how you picture it, us running away.”

He chuckled and shifted his feet.

“Well, first…”

“Yes?” I asked sensuously, taking one of his hands in mine.

“We sneak away from the party. No one will know where we went, except for… Abigail, because she’s not as mouthy as Sam is.” He took my other hand.

“Doesn’t sound so bad so far. Then what?”

“We go grab my bike. The engine roars to life, and you and me get on and fly down the highway, sunset in the background.”

“Ooh, the sun is starting to set a bit right now,” I remarked as I leaned my head onto his chest and he leaned his onto my head.

“We’ll find a small, little boutique town with a motel or a bed and breakfast, and hopefully some hot springs to relax in from the cold weather, and then… we’ll buy some wedding clothes from a little local thrift shop, and then… we find someone to marry us.”

“Wow. I kind of love it. I wasn’t sure, but you painted such a beautiful picture.”

He pulled away to offer a smirk to me.

“Well, the sun is setting. We’d have to leave now if we want to ride off into that sunset.”

I turned back once more to see the festivities going on. Everyone seemed happy and content and fine. Everyone has a role to pay in a community, and Sebastian and I had never been the most conformist of citizens. In a sense, I was proud of that. We had our own place in this community. We have our own place on the farm to live in and let our lives play out without disturbing Sebastian’s family arrangement any more than need be. They wouldn’t have to worry once we returned and were married, living on the farm house.

I would do my farm work, and Sebastian could have the guest bedroom as an office to do his programming from. On sunny days, he could bring a laptop outside and he could code while I farm. Honey could hang out on the porch with him. Sam and Abby would come over to our place for band practices. Maybe Penny would come over to watch, maybe with a mermaid pendant around her neck. I would wake up early in the morning, kiss Seb on the cheek as he sleeps in, and head out to buy seeds and tend to the animals. Leave him a pot of coffee ready for when he decides to get out of bed. Watch movies and play video games in the evenings. I could see it all so clearly.

But even besides all that I could imagine, I knew I loved him. That’s why I had to say,

“Let’s do it.” I pulled him in for a quick kiss before we ran off, under the shadows of the pine trees to escape the farm and find that motorcycle ride to freedom.


End file.
